Abstract:

The application of neuroscience is bringing new opportunities for educational research in diverse environments, allowing mechanisms, processes and interactions to be analysed in the educational context. Neurotechnologies based on eye-tracking, biological brain, cardiac and muscle signals (EEG, ECG and EMG), transdermal electrical activity (EDA), through mobile devices, webcams or virtual reality devices, are providing insights into how the brain learns and responds to external stimuli. These biomedical devices are being developed for real-time biological signal processing for analysis studies and data collection in the classroom environment in order to provide personalised information, guide feedback or understand mechanisms such as concentration, attentional focus, memory retention, inter-brain activity, the effects of different teaching methodologies, or reactions to behaviours analysed in marketing, economics and/or finance. This work has been oriented to know the results of these studies, as well as the limitations related to the ethical validity of their use in the high educational environment, to understand the scope of these neurotechnologies, their applicability, or the new approaches of responsible research and educational innovation.

This paper aims to relate the post-digital challenges and innovations posed by the use of neurotechnologies in education and the ethical implications and responsible integration of their use in the classroom. It seeks to address a number of issues that teachers and research staff should consider before addressing the use of neurotechnologies in the educational environment. Mainly whether there are new ethical challenges in the pursuit of cognitive enhancement, or the increase of performance differences, or whether there are new ethical issues in safeguarding and manipulating the security of neural response data as personal data.

Keywords:

Neurotechnologies, high education, ethical implications.