Note: This blog post is the second part of a two-part series describing my experience using the Google Glass in the medical school setting. The events in this series occurred in January 2014 over a 2-3 week period. Enjoy!
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How much a few weeks can change things! A few weeks ago, I had been struggling even to keep the Google Glass turned on, but soon enough, I became a whiz (relatively speaking) at the Glass's controls. Let me recap some of the memorable (both good and not so good) moments.
I think by now, at least two dozen of my classmates have tried on this pair of Glass with great excitement. All of them had heard of Google Glass before, so I suppose Google's advertising campaign is successful. After they've put it on, they usually ask me, "So what can it do?!" "Why don't you take a picture?" "OK, Glass. Take a picture." Pause. "Wow! That's so cool!" Even several of my professors came by to try out this new technology. I'm sure I will now forever be known among the faculty as "that Google kid."
Fun and games aside, how did I use the Google Glass in my medical school classes? Let's talk about the positives first. One big plus is that I can take pictures of the whiteboard, lecture recordings, or videos of a small group discussion without seeming too conspicuous. All of the Glass's functions can be touch-activated by tapping and swiping the touch-sensitive rim. Another nifty feature is the built-in translation function. Imagine if you were looking at a poster in the subway that was written in Spanish. With a few taps of the Glass, the poster is now in English. You do not see the Spanish anymore! I tried this out on foreign language publications I found on Pubmed. Cool, huh?
One of the Google Glass's coolest features is also, in my opinion, its biggest drawback: voice controls. In the classroom, in the lecture hall, at the bedside – none of these situations permits a medical student to speak aloud to his or her Glass without being disruptive. The touch controls are not a keyboard, so to take advantage of a Google search during lectures, you are better off using a tablet or laptop. (I can imagine Glass being useful in anatomy lab, though.) Another significant issue I experienced was getting Internet. Boy, was it complicated. You must log into your Google account on a computer and generate a QR code for the specific network, which would then be used to connect the Glass. Having assumed that my Glass could function completely without a computer, I struggled with this for a long time before finally asking for help. One final comment on the hardware: the Glass has a short battery life (about 2 hours) and heats up very quickly (within 15 minutes). Personally, I found it a bit uncomfortable to have a device with a decently high temperature pressed against my right temple for a few hours.
So all in all, I think the Google Glass has the potential to transform medical education, but changes to the current learning environment and infrastructure are definitely required before Glass can become mainstream. For now, I think Glass is a noteworthy and fun addition to student life outside of the classroom, and may yet prove to be the next big milestone enhancement for everyone's social life.
As for me, I have since returned to my Glass-less life. Hope you enjoyed reading. Until next time! "That Google kid," signing off.
