Smartron, US univ partner to study impact of tech on education

Indian tech firm Smartron today said it has partnered University of Southern California for research on education by using wearables and machine learning technologies.
The partnership with USC's Centre for Human Applied Reasoning and the Internet of Things (CHARIOT) will focus on understanding the influence on learning when smartphones and sensors are used.
Smartron's 'tBand' will log metrics like the user's BP, stress levels, daily activity metrics and heart rate.
Analysing this data can add to a teacher's contextual understanding of students' cognitive processes to ensure that the appropriate instructional methods are implemented, the company said.
This will help in coming up with personalised education modules for students and teachers.

Smartron said it is looking at bringing IoT and artificial intelligence to mainstream education by using a wearable device and its tronX platform.

The initial programme is for 2 years but is extendible to other projects as well, it added.
No financial details of the partnership were disclosed.
"Real personalised learning is about understanding the students' cognitive readiness to learn combined with environmental factors," Smartron founder Mahesh Lingareddy said.
With the wearables and tronX, Smartron will be able to gather and analyse the data to help create the most effective learning interventions for students who may need it, but may not necessarily ask for it, he added.

"Incorporating wearable devices and AI into the daily curriculum and teaching methodologies could help teachers to effectively map students' learning curve and administer tailored interventions at the right time," CHARIOT Co-Director Kenneth Yates said.