Under the leadership of Prof. Dr Joachim Fensterle, the project ‘Software-assisted learning with smart glasses in laboratory practicals’ is set to begin in January 2017 at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences.
In January 2017, the project ‘Software-assisted learning with smart glasses in laboratory practicals’ will be launched at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences. Under the leadership of Prof. Dr Joachim Fensterle, Professor of Biotechnology/Bioengineering at the Faculty of Life Sciences, the use of smart glasses in university teaching in the field of biotechnology is being trialled. “Acquiring practical skills in laboratory practicals is an essential component of science degree programmes. The great opportunity presented by this project is that e-learning will be used to further expand the possibilities offered by laboratory practicals. In future, this will not only improve the quality of education, but will also enable students to be introduced to more complex equipment and experimental procedures. By analogy with ‘Internet 4.0’, this approach could therefore be described as e-learning of things – or e-learning 4.0,’ explains Prof. Dr Joachim Fensterle.
The MIWF and the Stifterverband are supporting this project with a one-year fellowship worth €50,000. Smart glasses are wearable data glasses that project information onto the student’s field of vision. This should enable students to carry out laboratory exercises and experiments using Wi-Fi-controlled smart glasses, to record them and to view information in real time. In the long term, the aim is to develop and implement a software-based e-learning solution which, even with limited supervisor-to-student ratios, enables individual assessment of basic theoretical requirements, real-time guidance and video documentation whilst experiments are being carried out.
In collaboration with the E-Learning Centre at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, this innovative teaching project will serve as a case study illustrating the use of smart glasses in formal learning contexts and will provide initial insights into the possibilities and limitations of using smart glasses in higher education.
