Hapster: Using Apple Watch Haptics to Enable Live Low-Friction Student Feedback in the Physical Classroom

TL;DR

Hapster leverages Apple Watch haptics to provide real-time, low-distraction student feedback to instructors during lectures, enhancing engagement and communication in physical classrooms.

Contribution

This paper introduces a novel system using haptic feedback on Apple Watch to deliver live student responses, expanding SRS capabilities beyond visual interfaces.

Findings

Effective delivery of live student feedback via haptics

Improved instructor and student engagement

Challenges in perceiving haptic sequences during lectures

Abstract

The benefits of student response systems (SRSs) for in-person lectures are well-researched. However, all current SRSs only rely on a visual interface to relay information to the instructor. We describe the design and evaluation of Hapster, a prototype system that uses an Apple Watch to deliver live, aggregated student feedback to the instructor via both visual and vibro-tactile modalities. We evaluated this system with 6 instructors and 155 students at a U.S. university. Participants reported that the system was effective at delivering live student feedback and facilitating better engagement from both the instructor and the students. However, instructors also noted several challenges with differentiating and perceiving the haptic sequences while lecturing. We conclude by discussing the tradeoff between system flexibility and abuse potential while identifying opportunities for further research regarding accessibility, content moderation, and additional interaction modalities. Our results suggest that haptics can be used as an effective live feedback mechanism for instructors in the physical classroom.