Superpower?: The Wearable-Tech Revolution

by Elaine Kachala, Belle Wuthrich (Illustrator)

Overview

Super strength, super hearing, super vision and super connection. Wearable technology may soon give humans superpowers.

Imagine being able to run without getting tired. Or travel to the moon to observe Earth for science class. The technologies that could make these things possible are mixing into our lives faster than we realize. The stakes are high. In Superpower?: The Wearable-Tech Revolution, young readers will discover how technological innovation can help people survive and thrive.

But what if super strength results in endless work? What if hackers can read our thoughts? What if living in a virtual world affects our humanity? The book asks readers to question the pros and cons of technology and consider if innovation can go too far. Meet the inventors, designers, engineers, scientists and young people navigating the next tech frontier.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459828278
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	10/18/2022
Series:	Orca Think , #7
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	880L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Elaine Kachala is a health-policy researcher, writer and adviser. She has over 20 years of writing experience with health agencies. Superpower? The Wearable-Tech Revolution is her first book. She’s curious and hopeful but can’t help being a little worried about how wearables will impact our health, well-being and equity. With degrees in psychology and sociology from the University of Toronto and a master of environmental studies from York University, she brings a unique perspective to the topic. Elaine lives with her family in Toronto.

Belle Wuthrich is an illustrator and designer specializing in books for young readers. Belle has contributed to more than a dozen books for kids, a number of which have won awards or been republished internationally, including the Montaigne Medal Award–winning Eyes and Spies: How You’re Tracked and Why You Should Know and the Silver Birch Award nominee Eat Up: An Infographic Exploration of Food. She lives in Campbell, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Our Wearable World 5

What Is Wearable Technology? 6

Wearables Have a Long History 11

Cyborg Celebrity 14

Chapter 2 Wearables are Changing How we Live 21

Tracking People and Pandemics 21

Helping People with Disabilities 24

Shaping Our Experiences with Immersive Technologies 28

Improving Life in Real Time 36

Chapter 3 We're Augmenting Our Humanness 43

Brain-Computer Interfaces 44

Lab-Grown Human Organs and Tissues: The Ultimate Wearables 51

Skin Interfaces 52

Fashion + Tech = Way More Than a New Look 54

Are Wearables Good Teammates? 57

Chapter 4 Are We Crossing the Line? 59

"Mind-Melding"-Let's Talk about Telepathy 59

Virtual Bodies-Let's Talk about Telepresence 62

Let's Talk 66

Choices 68

Chapter 5 How do we Design Responsible Technology? 71

Set Up! 72

Rise Up! 82

Team Up! 88

You, Me, Everyone-We're Part of the Responsible-Design Team 91

Glossary 94

Resources 98

Acknowledgments 100

Index 102

What People are Saying About This

Andrea Jarr

“While at first glance Superpower? might seem like ‘just a science book,’ the book goes way beyond the science of this technology to explore the critical need for moral, principled, ethical, and diverse humans to guide its design and usage. As a social studies teacher, I look forward to using this book to delve into inquiry questions like, ‘Just because we can, should we?’ and ‘Is the power unleashed by technology worth it?’...Superpower? is detailed and introduces the reader to technical language, but it is accessible and doesn’t lose sight of its middle grades audience. I look forward to sharing Superpower? not just with my students, but with any colleague interested in STEAM, social sciences, or issues of diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion.

Jed Doherty

“#RWYK Certified Great Read! Congratulations to Elaine Kachala!! Our latest certified great read! Kids love wearable technology. This book gives them the information they need to get inspired and to change the future.”

Editorial Reviews

An accessible introduction to a complex topic…A valuable read for anyone seeing to better understand wearable technology.

Canadian Children's Book News

Will help kids discover not only how electronic wearables can help people survive and thrive, but also the challenges and ethics surrounding this next tech frontier.

TEACH Magazine

Gobsmackingly good!...If you and your kids read one nonfiction book this year, this should be it.

Great Books for Kids Reviewed by Michelle Marcotte

This book showcases past and present examples on how technological innovation has helped people thrive in our daily life accompanied by beautiful illustrations and questions on ethical issues on technology use... The Best STEM Books emphasize real-world issues that cross disciplinary boundaries.

CBC/NSTA Best STEM Books Committee

Full of information that tech savvy kids will love to explore.

The International Educator

10/01/2022

Gr 4–8—Technology is all around us; some of it can even be found on us. Devices are being created to improve our lives, from smartwatches to smart tattoos. What's cool is that these technologies can sometimes make it seem as if we have superpowers. While there are many positives of wearable technology, there are also negative points. Kachala explores different types of wearable tech, their creation, and their pros and cons in this resource guide. Readers will be familiar with some forms, while others will likely be brand new. Broken down into clear chapters with an index, this is a readable guide for valuable information on the subject. Kachala presents the information skillfully for her target audience. Fun illustrations and photographs are scattered throughout the book to support the text. Likely to fall flat for those already indifferent, those who are interested or need research sources for a school assignment will be satisfied. A glossary and list of resources are included in the back. VERDICT Purchase where STEM books are popular and are needed for school assignments.—Amanda Borgia

School Library Journal