Computer Therapists

In the article "Making Mona Lisa Smile," each section explains the valuable improvements technolody is making; however, one can argue that this new Facial Action Coding Sysytem may not excel in the classroom. This system enables a computer to read the expressions of humans but this may not be as effective as it seems. The author explains that this system could be used in the classroom in order to benefit the students lessons. This may be effictive to some degree; however, the computer system can not understand the students thought process. The Facial Action Coding Sytem would not be as valuable in the classroom in order to read the emotional expressions of students.

The Coding System created by Prof. Thomas Huang and Prof. Nicu Sebe is a computer that uses a 3-D model of the face in order to "claculate" the expressions and emotions of a human. Prof. Huang and Sebe also collaborated with a psychologist in order to simplify the machine toread and code six basic emotions. These six basic emotions- happiness, fear, surprise, anger, disgust, and sadness- do not cover the overall nature of human expressions. This is already one fault in the idea. Students in any grade level have many different ways of expressing their feelings and emotions whether that be through nonverbal facial recongnition or body movement. The "basic six" would not accurately cover each expression portrayed by the user and it could lead to a simple, yet common mix up.

Dr. Huang predicts that, "A classroom computer could recognize when a student is becoming confused or bored. Then it could modify the lesson, like an effective human instructor." When broken down Dr. Huang is stating that the system could replace a human instructor in order to teach the student based on his or her emotional reaction to the lesson being taught. This is not a valuable asset for stdents who may simply not enjoy the lesson being taught, whether they understand it or not. A common stereotype is that all highschool students are tired, which for the most part is accurate, whcih could confuse the system with the idea that the student is unhappy about the lesson. An honors student may then have the lesson simplified to a point it is no longer of any value to the learner. According to renowned drama coach, Constantin Stanislavsky, "Putting on a happy face actually Works!" This is another reason the system could be easily decieved with false readings of a student. They could simply put on their happy face and a computer attempting to read the emotion of that person would not be "calculating" an acutal emotion. This would not benefit the student's learning process nor their social relationships.

Social relationships are a major part throughout school and this system would take a lot of the interaction away from students and teachers. Unable to help students, the social nature in interactions between students and higher authorities would be negative. Dr. Huang notes that, "Most human communication is nonverbal, including emotional communication." This may be true; however, taking away the interactions and basic knowledge of students manners could be harmful. Even though there are pros to this system, such as video surgery that make computer-animated faces more expressive, there is not a need for the system in an everyday classroom.

Facial Coding in the classroom would not benefit the stuents learning process or social interractions. There are myriads of ways to express emotions nonverbally without facial recognition. Six basic emotions may not accurately decribe the feeling of ones current stae of mind in the classroom, which could affect the lesson given to him or her. Social relatiosnhips could be lost when relying on a machine to determine one anothers feelings and "putting on happy faces" may damper ones ability to express their emotions. The Facial Action Coding System would not be valuable to the students in a classroom environment.