Is the "Facial Action Coding System" really going to be able to read and react to students emotions? Well this new technology can read the facial expressions of a student therefore it can change the classwork based off how the student is feeling but, a computer can't really read a students true emotions just based off their facial expressions.

The "Facial Action Coding System" created by Dr. Paul Eckman is used in a new innovation created by Prof. Thomas Huang, Prof. Nicu Sebe and their collegues. This Innovation is a sort of program that allows a computer to read a persons emotions based off their facial expressions The facial expressions for each emotion are universal, states Dr. Huang. Although the facial expressions of a person are similiar to another like smiling for example, however we may unconsciously have an expression even though we are not feeling the emotion that expression conveys.

"Empathy (feeling someone elses emotional state) may happen because we unconsciously imitate another persons facial expressions." this shows we may show an expression without truly feeling that emotion the expression suggests. Therefore can this technology really help a student in a classroom setting?

A classroom computer could recognize when a student is becoming confused or bored, Dr. Huang predicts. Then it could modify the lesson, like an effective human instructor. with this said it may become frustrating or irritating to the student with the constant changes. This technology sounds very convincing but think of an emotionally challenged teenager can the computer keep up or truly read the emotions of the teen just by facial expressions alone? "Eckman has classified six basic emotionshappiness, surprise, anger, disgust, fear, and sadnessand then associated each with characteristic movements of the facial muscles.". The technology can always improve but at the state it's in right now it may not be as accurate as needed to be in a classroom setting with only having the basic emotions proggramed. Although the technology is advanced and helpful to an extent it may not be something we can use right now.

This technology is helpful but also not good enough for students to enjoy and be helpful. This technology as previously mentioned can alter the classwork a student is doing based off their emotional state. According to Dr. Huang this technology can read mixed emotions as well but with only six to go off of it may not be a truly accurate answer and may make the student feel another emotion because it could not respond properly. This technology should be tested and improved on before going in a classroom setting.

In conclusion the "Facial Action Coding System" is a technology not ready to be put in schools but is still a good innovation. The new technology can't read all their emotions just based off expressions alone but in the future change accordingly to a students emotions hopefully based off not just expressions and be ready for students to utillize.    