[ot-caption title=”A man wears a Moto 360 by Motorola, an Android Wear smartwatch, on the demo floor at Google I/O 2014 in San Francisco, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. ” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/smartwatch.jpg”]

Smartwatches present a relatively recent development in the technological world, and with possibilities for infractions of the Honor Code, there needs to be a coherent and comprehensive policy regarding these novel devices within the scholastic institution.

The Moto 360 (pictured above) is arguably the most elegant, popular smartwatch watch today, and its connectivity to a phone allows for access to the Internet and other services like email and text messaging. These capabilities are exactly the issue with connected devices that are always worn and visible.

In terms of implications of this power from an education standpoint, Mr. Walters, Head of the Pine Crest Upper School, stated in a PCTV interview, “If you have a smartwatch, leave it in the backpack with your phone, maybe off to the side, just to remove any doubt from the teacher’s mind.”

[ot-video type=”vimeo” url=”http://vimeo.com/112193473″]

This novel policy takes a very simplistic yet familiar procedure with its similarity to the current method of dealing with the likes of other technological devices such as: smartphones, laptops, and tablets. However, these revolutionary timepieces offer significant functionality that will likely make them quite prevalent in almost every part of society in the not so distant future.

Pine Crest’s Upper School Administration recognizes the value in the convenient, non-intrusive manner of constantly remaining “online” provided by these wrist gadgets, and Mr. Walters himself noted the significant interactions that are produced by this section of wearables.

Scott Shanbom, sophomore, argues in favor of the policy saying, “Cheating could be fairly easy, and it doesn’t seem all that difficult for people to remove their watches. It does not appear to be such an inconvenience.” This outlook seems to be a consensus among students within the high school.

In this sense, students are welcome to wear the contraption throughout the school day, but when it comes to the time for examinations and assessments, the same protocol should be taken as with a phone. Additionally, with other wearables like Google Glass and the advent of Internet connected contact lenses on the horizon, more intrusive regulations may be necessary.

Source: PCTV, Pine Crest School