A recent plan by a school in southern China to force smart wearables on pupils to monitor their daily movements understandably stirred controversy. A barrage of negative responses from parents prompted Guangdong Guangya High School in Guangzhou to delay the project, pending further consultations.

Some 3,500 electronic bracelets were to be handed to the children in order to track their locations and record class attendance. The devices can also track fitness levels and certain behaviours over the course of a day.

Fears about privacy violation in such cases are certainly justified, but there is another side of the coin to consider.

Many of the concerns are fuelled by a lack of information or misconceptions. The reality is that digitalisation is now our way of life, and part and parcel of modern society, for both adults and children.

Digitalising the campus is also the future of education. Wearable technology is developing fast in the world of teaching and learning. If we allow our children to carry a mobile phone, then why are we resisting wearables, which could keep our children safer and make learning easier? It is contradictory that we embrace mobile technology but reject smart wearables.

We need to put aside our unwarranted suspicions about snooping or location tracking, because there are plenty of devices already doing that. An open-minded approach is needed that recognises the many practical advantages in the classroom when technology is used and managed properly.

Wearables are fast becoming ingrained in education in some parts of the world. One example is smart bracelets designed to detect dangerous fumes. When students are carrying out experiments in science classes with potentially hazardous chemicals, these bracelets send out alerts where necessary which could save lives if an explosion forced the evacuation of a classroom.

Some bracelets are programmed to measure heart rate and body condition during physical education classes. Teachers can then assess pupils’ individual fitness levels so they know their limits and how far to push them.

More sophisticated wearables can even track classroom performance by recording a pupil’s response to learning materials – kind of like one-on-one attention without a teacher needing to be with each student individually. Educators can then devote more time to those pupils having difficulties. This can accelerate the learning process and make teaching more focused, efficient, and effective.

An explosion in the use of wearables is coming to the field of education. The many advantages these devices already bring are only the tip of the iceberg.

Soon students may be able to access curriculum information using a wearable, or pay for food at the canteen and take out books from the library. Concerns about the recording of personal information and compromised liberty depend on the person in control of the device and his or her intentions.

Just because something has a function that might produce negative outcomes, it does not mean we need to ban it. We do not ban cars because they kill pedestrians, or prohibit the use of knives because they cause serious injury. Common sense and good judgment are required.

We are living in a colossal bubble that is the digital era, and you are either in it or out. The heart of the issue is that we must ask ourselves whether we are using digital devices or they are using us? Technology can both liberate people and limit them. It should better our lives, not rule them. You just have to be smarter than your smart device.

Luisa Tam is a senior editor at the Post