BrainCo

"She's bored, not napping. She has learned to think about schoolwork, and at the same time about other things in a private corner of her mind."

That's a description of Ramona Quimby in class, but author Beverly Cleary's beloved character might not be able to get away with daydreaming during school for much longer.

A Boston technology company called BrainCo Inc. has created a headband, developed by Ph.D. students at Harvard University's Center for Brain Science, "that detects and quantifies students' attention levels in the classroom." This allows teachers to pull up a screen and see who's zeroed in on the class topic and who's drifting away to a private corner of their mind.

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A BrainCo headband

"The headbands," writes Britain's The Independent, "use electroencephalography (EEG) sensors to detect brain activity when the wearer is engaged in a task."

The goal, says BrainCo, is to improve student engagement, show educators what teaching techniques are working, and identify students in class who need extra help. And the technology is already being put into practice.

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Thousands of students in China are using the headbands on a trial basis right now. That number, according to BrainCo, might soon grow to millions of Chinese students.

Critics told The Independent that any improvement in a student's performance is "likely to be caused by the placebo effect," but BrainCo is forging confidently ahead.

A promotional video hints that the company's original headband is only the beginning. Titled "May the FOCUS be with you," it shows people moving objects and turning on lights with their minds.

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-- Douglas Perry

@douglasmperry

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