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Observing teaching and learning using Vuzix

Debbie Grace

Well, this was just fascinating! My colleague Mo and I decided to really test out the Vuzix glasses by using them to observe a teaching session. As well a being a colleague on the Smart Glasses team, Mo is also a student on my Cert Ed course. I should really say was a student - congratulations Mo for becoming a qualified teacher! Well done! And what better way to end the year by using Vuzix glasses to conduct his final observation. A lot of planning had gone into this and we made sure we were both well prepared. Mo had also worked hard to ensure his mentor, Paul, who was wearing the glasses during the observation, was equally prepared. There were a couple of minor issues initially due to wi-fi connectivity, but this was addressed quickly by using a desktop computer.

Everything seemed to be working well and although the pictures were a little 'jerky' I could see what the learners were doing very clearly and what Mo was doing. The sound was pretty good too although I certainly knew I was a in workshop!


I think we were probably being a bit too ambitious as we decided to record the session as well as watch it live, and in hindsight, this may have been one of the reasons why the battery lost power so quickly. In fact, 1 battery lost power after about 10 minutes and then a second after about 6 minutes. I was also taking pictures as I was watching too, which could easily have been another factor. This meant that Paul had to use his laptop to help power the glasses for the remainder of the observation.

When the batteries were losing power it also meant there was a longer delay in communications. Mostly, communication was good - I could hear Paul without any delays, but anything I said was delayed a few seconds getting to Paul. This delay got much longer when the batteries were struggling too.

Despite the issues, I felt it was a real success. Overall, I got to see to see the bulk of a practical session really clearly, and when I was unsure about anything I could check with the mentor who could clarify. I could see that learners were working on individual tasks and I could hear the interactions between teacher and learner and between the learners. As a teacher educator and Ed Tech enthusiast, it's certainly taught me a lot about how the glasses could be used. They might not be the best solution for watching/videoing a session remotely for a long period of time, but they could be really valuable if I just wanted to 'pop into' a class on a more informal basis and focus on one particular aspect of the session. Of course, there's a lot of planning to do to just 'pop in', but if we get used to using the technology on a regular basis, the planning won't need to be as in-depth. We are of course, heavily reliant on good wi-fi too, which can't always be guaranteed. There could be too much to lose if we rely on the technology for end-point or summative assessment purposes, especially if the infrastructure is just not there. But they could be a game changer for formative assessment. Imagine being able to watch what our learners are doing in a remote/work based location. Imagine being able to communicate with employers and mentors...


It will be interesting to see what Mo says about the whole experience in his blog...#smartglasses #edtech #gamechanger

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