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The Debate of the Faces

A new technology called Facial Action Coding System, which enables computers to show human emotions by facial expressions, is not valuable to students in the classroom. I do not think that a computer system to read the emotions of students is needed for a quality education. Students have been learning in schools without the Facial Action Coding System for hundreds of years, so why would the Facial Action Coding System help us now? The Facial Action Coding System could actually be unbeneficial to students in the long run. This system could make students feel uncomfortable and insecure about their learning.

The main reason that the Facial Action Coding System is not valuable to students in a classroom is beause it is invading to the students privacy. The students may feel like their emotions are invaded by a computer that is constantly watching them. The Facial Action Coding System could make the student feel like they are being pressured and that their emotions for a certain day can alter their learning style. "Using video imagery, the new emotion-recognition software tracks these facial movementsin a real face or in the painted face of Mona Lisa" (D'Alto). This shows that the system can watch the students' every move. Would you like to be watched all day by a computer that is reading your mood?

Another reason why the Facial Action Coding System is not needed in the classroom is because many classes in school are taught by a teacher, not by computers. The Facial Action Coding System might not be used at all if the school is taught by a majority of teachers, which could be a waste of money and software. Dr. Huang says in paragraph 6 that 'A classroom computer could recognize when a student is becoming confused or bored.' Even though this statement is true about the Facial Action Coding System, many lessons in schools are not taught by computers, but are taught by teachers. The teacher could also probably tell if the students are bored or confused so they could alter their lessons. In paragraph 5, the author says that, "In fact, we humans perform this same impressive calculation every day. For instance, you can probably tell how a friend is feeling simply by the look on her face" (D'Alto). This shows that the classroom teacher could effectively alter their lesson based on the expressions of the students, just as the Facial Action Coding System could.

In some cases the Facial Action Coding System could be valuable to the classroom and learning environment. If a student is taking online courses or a school is predominantly taught by computer lessons, the Facial Action Coding System would help students stay more focused. The system could try to change the way of teaching based on the viewer's expressions. The system can also be beneficial to ads on computers. "...if you smile when a Web ad appears on your screen, a similar ad might follow. But if you frown, the next ad will be different" (D'Alto). This shows that the Facial Action Coding System could also make ads more interesting for those on computers often.

The Facial Action Coding System is definetly an amazing invention to computers and reading facial expressions. Although it is a great invention, I do not think that schools are ready for a program that studies the students' faces. This technology should not be used so it can protect the students' privacy, make them feel comfortable in the learning environment, and make them feel like their lessons are not forced. Many schools are also probably still taught by a majority of teachers, whearas the Facial Action Coding System would not be needed at all. All in all, it depends on where you fall in the debate of the faces.

Score: 5