Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/269179
72 March/April 2014 BizEd technology Tools of The Trade by Karren Watkins, Andrew Knight, and Ron King Many businesses are making their first forays into the use of wearable sensors, a quickly evolving technology that collects information about the wearer's behavior or physiological condi- tion. Walt Disney World Resort, for example, has been testing the use of RFID-equipped wristbands for park attendees. Visi- tors can use their wristbands to enter the park and make credit purchases. The wristbands also act as parking passes and hotel room keys. In the future, guests might even be able to use the technology to schedule a place on park rides or make din- ing reservations. At the same time, Disney can aggregate the data these devices generate so it can better understand the behavior of park guests and adjust to emergent patterns. As wearable technology becomes more powerful, less expensive, and more prominent in business, can business schools create richer learning experiences by bringing the technology into their classrooms? At Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, we think so. In the fall 2013 semester, we initiated Project Sense, a program that introduces students to wearable technology. With the technology's sensor-based metrics, we can give students objective, quantitative data on how they engage in interper- sonal interactions. Dynamic Data Traditional models for giving students feedback on their inter- personal skills rely heavily on surveys and one-on-one coaching sessions. While these approaches are useful, they are limited by their inherently subjective nature. That's why we wanted to discover whether wearable sensors could offer students more insight into how they interact with their peers. Off-the-shelf technology is currently limited, but we use a device called a Sociometer, developed at the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Sociometer is worn around the neck on a lanyard, much like an identification badge. Embedded in the device are an array of sensors, including micro- phones, Bluetooth, infrared, and an accelerometer, which record moment-by-moment markers of conversation and body movements to paint a detailed picture of group and interpersonal dynamics. Each device costs approximately US$500—the university now owns 20, and we plan to purchase more in the future. We gather data as students engage in a range of experien- tial learning activities. Students can go to an online portal to access personalized reports, easy-to-read charts, and graphics derived from the sociometric data. An example of a personal- ized report can be found at www.bizedmagazine.com/features/ technology/wearing-tech/. Putting Sensors to Work So far, we have used the Sociometers in three primary experi- ential activities: Mock interviews. Students are given the option of receiv- ing sociometric feedback during 30-minute mock interviews in Olin's Management Communication Lab, in addition to the inter- viewer's immediate verbal feedback. The Sociometer measures, for example, how much and how well students engage in vocal and physical mirroring of their interviewers, behaviors known to indicate interpersonal influence. It also provides data on how well students pace and balance their parts of the conversation. While the idea of wearing a device during an interview could be intimidating, almost all students opt to use the Soci- ometers. They find the resulting data to be an enlightening part of their practice. Olin School Experiments with Wearable Technology Olin students Senthilkumar Manickavachakam and Liz O'Keefe wear Sociometers to record the details of their social interaction.