Lesson of the Day: ‘Hoping for a Dog Phone? You May Have a Long Wait.’

Lesson Overview

Showcased Short article: “Hoping for a Canine Cellular phone? You May perhaps Have a Prolonged Hold out.” by Christine Chung

A scientist in Scotland established and tested a device that allowed her canine to make movie phone calls. While the pet dog commonly only created calls by incident, the review has lifted concerns about animal interaction by means of know-how.

In this lesson, you will discover about how the “DogPhone” was made, and some of the concerns that other scientists have about the examine and its implications. Then you will design and style your own pet tech system and a relevant experiment.

Heat-Up

Enjoy this two-moment online video in which Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, an assistant professor at the College of Glasgow, describes a new system she created for her pet. Soon after you are carried out, remedy the thoughts below.

• Why did Dr. Hirskyj-Douglas develop this product? What concerns was she hoping to remedy?

• How does the DogPhone operate? What did Dr. Hirskyj-Douglas master from her experiment?

• What would you like to ask Dr. Hirskyj-Douglas about her experiment and success?

Issues for Writing and Dialogue

Go through the article, and then solution the following inquiries:

1. How did Dr. Hirskyj-Douglas set up a way for her pet dog to talk with her?

2. According to the results of the 16-day review, how did Zack, Dr. Hirskyj-Douglas’s Labrador retriever, interact with the DogPhone?

3. Why was her study of the phone inconclusive?

4. Why was Dr. Patricia McConnell, a foremost animal behaviorist, skeptical of the examine? What does she feel could have built it a much better experiment? What do you consider?

5. What concerns did the study raise about our capability to realize a dog’s intentions? How would you solution these thoughts? Do you imagine it’s doable to know if a dog, or other animal, wishes connection and conversation with a human?

6. How has the pet tech marketplace grown in the latest yrs? Offered the deficiency of investigate about these products, what worries do some researchers and veterinarians have about these products and solutions?

7. What do you believe about the DogPhone? Do you consider the thought behind it is promising? Do you believe pet homeowners would want to invest in one if it at any time arrived to industry?

Going Further more

Discover a lot more about an additional pet know-how unit, this sort of as cameras, motion trackers or even treadmills. Immediately after looking at even more, solution the pursuing inquiries:

• What is the function of the machine and how does it purpose?

• What do you believe could be intriguing or handy about the product?

• What thoughts or problems do you have about the device?

Following, design and style your have pet tech product. Very first, come to a decision what trouble or issue you want your unit to address. Then, think of how a new machine could be able to address that problem. After you have a design and style idea, set up an experiment to determine irrespective of whether your product is effective. You can use this “laboratory experiment” worksheet to increase aspects about the products, set up and process you are going to use.

Eventually, share your design and style thought and the outcomes of your experiment with your classmates. What opinions do they have about your design and style? What do you discover and surprise about their models?

Want much more Lessons of the Working day? You can find them all here.