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Senior care centers are usually not the first place to adopt cutting-edge innovations like interactive digital displays, electronic glass whiteboards, or miniature robots.

But that may be changing, as students in the Long-Term Care Administration program discovered when they toured the Learning Innovations Lab and learned how technology can be adapted to enhance life at senior living facilities for the elderly and their caregivers.

“I found the Ozobots (miniature robots) interesting in a recreational context,” said Haya Mehar Mohammed, a first-year graduate student from Qatar studying Healthcare Design in the School of Architecture. “They can be used for social engagement, and can be programmed to interact with, and monitor residents’ vital signs, behavior patterns and movements.”

The list of potential applications for senior living is endless: computer programmed wheelchairs and mail carts that automatically travel along predetermined routes; wearable that track movement and sleep; gadgets that send alerts to take medication.

The Learning Innovations Lab is a cutting-edge, high-tech classroom in the College of Education, Health and Human Services. The newest of Kent State’s 25+ Design Innovation nodes, technology in this White Hall-based makerspace lab primarily centers on education with stations that focus on the following technologies:

• Merge cubes – an augmented reality tool allowing users to interact with virtual objects.
• Ozobots – miniature robots designed for teaching coding and robotics concepts to children.
• eGlass Lightboard – a combination of electronic glass whiteboard with a camera and LED lighting system that uses fluorescent markers.
• Clear Touch screens create engaging, interactive learning experiences like writing, drawing, and annotating for up to 20 people simultaneously.
• Lego Spike Robotics – critical thinking and problem-solving kits designed for elementary and middle school students.

Additional technology includes an extended reality headset that includes a mix of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality environments; and a digital clock that can used to diagnose strokes or dementia.

“Long-term care organizations can use technology to be more effective by enhancing the lives of seniors and reducing workloads for care givers,” said Donna Alexander, associate lecturer, and Long-Term Care Administration Program Coordinator. “These tech trends can make a big difference in long-term care, and health care providers are already using new technology to address the needs of residents and staff. This is why I wanted to introduce students to technology and get them thinking about possible applications in healthcare.”