Analysis of heart rate monitors for evaluating student’s mental working capacity

Abstract

It is necessary to develop smart e-learning systems that can evaluate in real time not only student’s knowledge, skills and experience, but also his functional state. The learning load and intensity should not lead to a reduction of student’s functional state, including learner’s mental working capacity. Student’s functional state can be evaluated by analysis of heart rate variability, since heart rhythm responds to all changes in the human body and environment. There are a lot of devices for measuring heart rate variability, which called heart rate monitors. In massive e-learning more accessible monitors should be used but such monitors may not be sufficiently accurate. This paper studies three devices that can be used to estimate student’s mental working capacity.