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Facial recognition in the classroom

Posted at 2:58 PM, Nov 04, 2013
and last updated 2013-11-04 14:58:17-05

Facial recognition in the classroom: a new tool claims to read and interpret every student's attentiveness in the classroom, using facial recognition.

Smithsonian reports Sensorstar Labs is the brains behind this invention called, "Engage Sense."

Here's how it reportedly works: a camera is focused on every student's face in classroom and during the lesson, the camera tracks eye movement and facial expression.

That data gets interpreted through a complex series of algorithms and is then turned into a report, or grade, you could say. 

The report apparently indicates whether or not each student was engaged in the lesson plan. 

But Smithsonian says the company may be challenged to prove the test can really interpret a student's attention level based only on eye movement and facial expression.

If it can be proven - not only would this tool be helpful to students who could understand how they learn best, but it would be a valuable lesson to teachers who would be able to gauge at what moments students' interest was the highest.