Research

New USC Research Center to Study Educational Value of the Internet of Things

• By Rhea Kelly
• 12/15/16

A new center at the University of Southern California aims to apply the real-time data generated by the Internet of Things to teaching and learning. Created through a partnership between the USC Rossier School of Education and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, the Center for Human-Applied Reasoning and the Internet of Things, or CHARIOT, "aims to bring education and engineering together in a way that will help educators gather real-time data about how students are learning and how teachers should personalize instruction for each student," according to the university.

At the heart of the research is the idea that the Internet of Things' network of devices and sensors can help evaluate students' cognitive engagement and emotions; the resulting data can then be used to provide personalized, just-in-time learning interventions. "If sensor measurements are carefully correlated with more traditional assessments of student learning, it would enable teachers to know which students need help, when they need help and what help they need, and possibly also give feedback and suggestions to individual students about what they could be doing to enhance their learning," the university explained in a press release.

"I think it's vitally important that personalized education begins right now," said USC Provost Michael Quick, in a statement. "By bringing big data, engineering and artificial intelligence principles to bear on something like personalized education, it's going to have a transformational impact."

CHARIOT will be co-directed by Kenneth Yates, professor of clinical education at the USC Rossier School of Education; Rao Machiraju, executive-in-residence at the USC Rossier School of Education; and Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Fellow and professor of electrical engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

For more information, visit the USC Rossier site.