Consumer Electronics Show 2016

Abstract

Each year, the Consumer Electronics Association hosts the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, and each year, I am amazed at what is shown. This past January, Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the association, noted that, although the show has been consumer products-centric, CES 2016 focused largely on products for the Internet of Things (IOT). As you may recall, the Emerging Technologies Center in 2015 focused primarily on the Connected Age in education and health care, which is heavily reliant on the IOT phenomenon. With this column, I will review some highlights of CES 2016 that have implications for nursing education and health care. (For a quick overview of CES 2016 products, visit www.nbcnews.com/tech/gadgets/smart-belt-high-tech-clothes-go-casual-ces-n492851.) PRODUCTS THAT WILL IMPACT THE CLASSROOM Let’s start with Leila Meyer’s (2016) column, “10 Products from CES That Will Impact the Classroom,” which can be organized into three categories: hardware, software, and tools. For the hardware category, Meyer mentions three products: the Samsung Galaxy TabPro S 2-in-1 tablet; the ASUS C202 Chromebook for Education, a durable computer that is spill/scratch resistant as well as shockproof and is thus ideal for campus labs; and the XYZ 3-D Printer, which connects with XYZ Maker, a 3D modeling app, and to ZYX Steam (http://us.xyzprinting.com/steam), an online curriculum exchange for educators. For educational tools, Meyer highlights four products. The first is the Kodak Super 8 camera, which allows digital functionality and the ability to record and play back movies. Next there is the Panasonic Rug Speaker, which can be built into carpet for uses in libraries and informal learning spaces. The third is a digital pen, Hanvon Pentech, which works with touchscreen televisions. The last, and probably the most exciting, is the DAQRI Smart Helmet, targeted for industrial engineers. The helmet contains an augmented, mixed-reality interface that allows a person to use augmented reality when interacting with the physical environment. It has lots of implications if augmented reality is to be incorporated into nursing or medical education (Skiba, 2011). In the software category, Meyer highlights Klaxoon and the Lenovo AirClass Interactive Virtual Classroom. Klaxoom is a cross-device learning platform that allows faculty to create interactive learning activities, including games, for mobile devices. Visit https://klaxoon.com to learn more about this learning platform and how you can use it to create new ways to interact with students. The AirClass classroom allows for video conferencing to connect students and faculty and offers the ability to track student engagement through videos from individual webcams. The product contains emotion-analyzing software to assess your teaching effectiveness. (Visit https://www.airclass.com/ to learn more.) If you remember my column on the Horizon Report (Skiba, 2015), these technologies (e.g., 3-D printers, MakerSpaces, gamification, and learning analytics) were on the horizon. The emotion-analyzing software brings in a whole new dimension for learning analytics. EMOTION ONLINE Jeffrey Young (2016), in the Chronicle of Higher Education column, highlights what he considers a tech trend “that might change education — the idea that emotion and a stronger sense of physical presence can be transmitted online.” He writes about a student project from Case Western to create a teddy bear that gives a virtual hug. You may think this has nothing to do with education, but consider these two points. First, as Young (2016) noted, “sharing hugs via bears…fit into a trend of trying to convey a richer sense of presence and emotional connection over the Internet.” It also corresponds to the AirClass Virtual Classroom, which classifies the emotion of students as they participate in an online lecture or discussion. Emotional data can help faculty gauge whether or not students are engaged and truly under