Swivl Debuts AI-Enabled Mirror Tool to Foster Student Reflection
- By Kate Lucariello
- 11/30/23
Ed tech company Swivl has introduced its latest tool, Mirror, which automates helping students develop higher order skills of thought and reflection about their learning and gives teachers insights into teaching such skills.
"The time of exclusively grading based on results is behind us; assessing reflection is now crucial for advancing education," the company said in a release.
Portable but sturdy, the AI-enabled hardware/software platform device requires minimal setup and can be used as a self-service kiosk anywhere in the school, the company said. Teachers can generate goals and activities for individuals or groups, and students can use it at any time, talking to a reflection of themselves. It includes a 180º camera and whiteboarding features, and facilitates calls with remote teachers, specialists, or students, embeds content, and gives controlled access to generalized AI.
"Automated reflection can help solve the intrinsic motivation challenge by fostering goal alignment on both individual and communal levels, expediting learning processes, and establishing fresh assessment benchmarks," the company said.
Referencing a study conducted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Swivl noted that "American teachers only have three minutes per hour of instructional time to devote to activities that allow students to reflect on their learning. The Mirror makes it easier to apply reflection to more learning scenarios and will enable teachers to gather reflection insights quickly."
Brian Lamb, CEO and co-founder of Swivl, said their company believes that AI must be introduced into the classroom intentionally and that reflection should be part of that.
"Reflection is incredibly powerful, but it has been left behind other ed tech advances," he said. "Fortunately, the Mirror allows educators and students to easily and regularly reflect throughout the learning experience and develop skills, creating short-term and long-term benefits…" such as "a more goal-aligned classroom and … stronger metacognitive skills … for thriving in an AI-driven world."
Visit this page to learn more and watch a video about how Mirror works.
Swivl has also launched a partnership campaign in which educators can buy a Mirror device and select a school they would like one donated to. Visit this page for more information on the campaign.
About the Author
Kate Lucariello is a former newspaper editor, EAST Lab high school teacher and college English teacher.