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Electrodermal Activity Wearables and Wearable Cameras as Unobtrusive Observation Devices in Makerspaces

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Unobtrusive Observations of Learning in Digital Environments

Part of the book series: Advances in Analytics for Learning and Teaching ((AALT))

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Abstract

Makerspaces are a unique type of environment for unobtrusive observation of learning in digital environments given that they encourage free movement and open interactions with a range of tools and people. Wearable devices that can generate and collect data about the wearer’s skin conductivity offer some new opportunities for conducting research on the learning that takes place in makerspaces. This chapter summarizes three studies and their analysis approaches that have used the combination of wearable electrodermal activity devices and wearable cameras to identify moments suggestive of high levels of youth engagement. The specific considerations that went into designing data analysis procedures for this environment are discussed as are the eventual solutions that were deployed in these studies. While use of wearable electrodermal activity is still new for in situ maker education research, the early results suggest that it may contribute to our understanding of what triggers engagement. Namely, free and active social interaction is identified as an especially important quality to preserve in makerspaces and maker-oriented learning experiences. While inferences like this and others could be made, this chapter also firmly asserts that still more work remains to be done to help the field settle on best analytical practices for using these wearables and analyzing the resultant data to maximize their potential for unobtrusively observing and analyzing engagement in these complex and dynamic environments.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Ryan Cain, Liam Fischback, Diamond Deng, Aditya Chandel, and Kyle Lam for their assistance in the work reported here. This work was supported in part by funding from the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. CNS-1623401 and CNS-1949740. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Victor R. Lee

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  1. Victor R. Lee
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Change and Complexity, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Vitomir Kovanovic

  2. School of Modeling Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

    Roger Azevedo

  3. Data Science in Higher Education Learning and Teaching, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia

    David C. Gibson

  4. Learning, Design and Technology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, BW, Germany

    Dirk lfenthaler

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Lee, V.R. (2023). Electrodermal Activity Wearables and Wearable Cameras as Unobtrusive Observation Devices in Makerspaces. In: Kovanovic, V., Azevedo, R., Gibson, D.C., lfenthaler, D. (eds) Unobtrusive Observations of Learning in Digital Environments. Advances in Analytics for Learning and Teaching. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30992-2_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30992-2_13

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