If you’re into biohacking, then you recognize the symbiotic relationship between your body and technology. Biohacking allows you to enhance what you already have. It can also help you make up for deficits, either real or imagined.

Biohackers engage in activities that help to reinvent who they are. All of us have likely used technology as a biohack at some point in our lives. You may have embarked on a step-program in which you try to log 10,000 steps a day. Your step counter helped you keep track of your progress. You probably synced it to an app that helped chart how close you got to your goals.

Taking asthma medication is a biohack. So is straightening your teeth or monitoring your heart health. Biohacks improve our quality of life. Sometimes the biohack is for us. Sometimes it’s for those around us.

Biohacks for the brain do more than improve our own human condition. They help us make the lives of others better, too.

Biohacks for the brain

Memory improvements

The first biohacks in education were mnemonic devices. They were the simple acronyms like PEMDAS (parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction) for solving math problems. Science had “my very excellent mother just served us nine pickles’ to help students remember the order of the planets – until Pluto lost planetary status, that is. The point is that teachers have always created mnemonics to help their students retain information.

Speed reading

Many people have wished they could read faster. They’re enrolled in speed reading courses to achieve this goal, but speed reading isn’t the only biohack for literacy. Edtech has created apps that help learners fall in love with reading. Learners who can and will read are engaged in the ultimate learning biohack.

Growth mindset 

Altering the way we think about problems allows us to solve them differently. Growth mindset is the willingness to accept mental challenges and solve them through persistence. It’s a tremendous biohack when it comes to learning because it changes perception and encourages growth.

Neurotechnology 

Using technology to enhance education brings plenty of perks to learning. Edtech has made mundane tasks not only convenient but also efficient. The real benefit of technology in academics, however, is the use of individualized instruction. Neurotechnology can capitalize on individualization and aid in memory retention. It also monitors motor-sensory control and regulates emotions. It’s very likely that neurotechnologists will be able to manipulate thought processes in the human brain, helping individuals overcome learning difficulties.

Biohacks in learning improve the learner’s capability to understand the world around them. They also help learners become leaders and teachers who help others. Collaborating on biohacks can be fulfilling.

Biohacks lend themselves to hackathons, where people come together to brainstorm ideas and bring them to life with technology. Biohacking may be the next step in human development, but it’s something educators have always been a part of.  

Teachers have always been at the forefront of building learning capacity. They are the ultimate biohackers.