Fidget device tells lecturers when they’re boring students

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Boring lecturers beware! Students could in future use fidget toys to let you know when they’re tired of your voice. University of Sussex design student Jade Gidney has devised Cadence, a circular hand-held device that looks a little like a computer mouse, to track student attentiveness. Gidney got the idea from seeing how students fidgeted with coffee cups when anxious or bored.

Before creating her first prototype she visited a number of lectures on the university’s Falmer campus and analysed student behaviour. The system is designed to alert the lecturer gradually to any loss of interest among their audience. Gidney insists the device is to help lecturers, rather than shame them for being dull.