The Internet of Things (IoT), like many other industries, has benefited education. The IoT-enabled connectivity continues to overtake pencils, paper, and chalkboards as there is an expansion in instructional approaches and learning opportunities. From online courses and “flipped classrooms” to integrated mobile technology and more efficient teaching methods.
Because of the rise of IoT in education and related technologies, the world of education is currently undergoing drastic changes. The teacher’s role is evolving, classroom autonomy is increasing, and students are becoming more interested in self-directed, self-paced learning. In this article, we’ll look at some examples of IoT in education and talk about their roles in the classroom. Let us begin!
Table of Contents
What Is IoT?
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a complex wireless network made up of thousands of devices that share, collect, create, and receive various types of data. These devices could be anything from biochips to mobile phones to sensors to a massive monitoring system, all of which are interconnected. The internet of things includes everything that is physical and extends its characteristics to a virtual space.
Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, big data, web-based system smart devices, appliances, and so on all fall under this broad category as long as they are internet-connected and have a software-based device.
How Does IoT Work?
An IoT ecosystem is made up of web-enabled smart devices that use embedded systems like processors, sensors, and communication hardware to collect, send, and act on data from their surroundings. IoT devices work by exchanging sensor data by connecting to an IoT gateway or other edge device, where data is either analyzed locally or sent to the cloud for analysis.
These devices occasionally communicate with one another and act on the information they receive. The devices do the majority of the work without human intervention, though people can interact with them to set them up, give them instructions, or access the data.
IoT In Education
The education sector is one of the most adaptable and effective in terms of deploying IoT devices to improve collaboration, interaction, and accessibility.
IoT devices provide students with consistent access to everything from learning materials to communication channels to good comprehension, and they enable teachers to track student learning progress in real-time. In terms of education, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of educational resources. The Internet of Things simply enables a shift in teaching methodology from traditional to digital, with several additional benefits and increased efficiency.
This can be used to teach anything from languages to math to practical skills like medical sciences, all while using graphics and animation to improve understanding of the subject matter. Not only can smart attendance devices, boards, integrated alarm systems in schools, assessment checking tools, cameras, and school locks be moved from the physical world to the central system-based control world and automated, but everything can.
What Issues Does IoT Address In The Education Industry?
According to studies, over 1.6 million children in the United States are currently home-schooled. Furthermore, 47% of parents in the United States are dissatisfied with the quality of K-12 education. Kids aren’t any better.
According to statistics: 70% of students are constantly bored at school, 80% of surveyed children are constantly stressed, and 75% of school attendees responded negatively to a ‘How are you doing?’ question.
Why are children and parents dissatisfied with what educational institutions provide? The following issues are most likely to blame:
Obsolete Curriculum
Despite obvious technological advancements, many schools continue to use antiquated teaching methods, paper textbooks, and curriculums that aren’t much different from those used centuries ago (math, writing, reading, foreign languages, history, and science). There is little to no opportunity to learn new skills necessary to remain competitive in the workplace.
According to the World Economic Forum, critical skills for the future workforce are not yet, or are only rarely, taught in schools. As a result, when young high school graduate enters the workforce or chooses a career path, they find it difficult to match their outdated skill set to the demands of a rapidly changing job market.
Teachers and Professors with Inadequate Education
According to studies, teachers wield significant influence over their students’ lifetime earnings and social status. It turns out that for every twenty students a mediocre teacher instructs, that professional loses $500,000 per year. As a result, students who are assigned to under-trained professionals have a lower chance of gaining admission to competitive colleges and landing lucrative jobs.
Low Classroom Participation
The traditional approach of ‘lecture, discuss, test’ is unlikely to engage students and improve information retention.
Outdated teaching methods make it difficult for educators to implement active interaction-based learning or personalize the curriculum. While slow learners lose concentration in class because the information is too difficult to process, academically inclined students are also disinterested in following the lesson because the concepts are not stimulating enough and are boring.
On-campus Security
Legislation such as the Clery Act raises awareness of the importance of safety in educational facilities. Unfortunately, most schools lack the infrastructure to detect red flags for theft, abuse, sexual assault, and other crimes committed on campus. They also lack a contingency plan that could be implemented once a threat is identified.
What Are The Benefits Of IoT In Education?
1. Efficient school system management: IoT is assisting in reducing the time and cost of spending money on manual tasks such as paperwork, managing funds, and tracking supplies.
2. Data collection in real-time: IoT processes terabytes of data at the same time. This data forecasts and analyzes student and staff activities to build an efficient and dependable school system.
3. Improvements in Resource Management: IoT is assisting in the management and rescue of water and electricity consumption. The use of paper has been significantly reduced because of IoT systems in education,
4. Global Connections: Because IoT systems require the internet, they connect and expose you to schools and universities all over the world. This provides you with a platform to interact with global systems and improve education quality.
5. Addresses Safety Concerns: Many parents in rural areas are concerned about sending their children to school. Some may be unable to afford it, while others may simply lack sufficient resources to fund a proper education. IoT is addressing such concerns and ensuring that the child feels safe and secure while receiving a quality education.
What Are The Applications of IoT In The Education Sector?
There are numerous applications of IoT technology in education; however, we will focus on the most common examples.
Security Is On Guard
Every educational institution’s top priority is to provide a safe academic environment for both students and faculty. However, even in this day and age of digital transformation in education, the majority of schools lack technology that can detect life-threatening situations and trigger alerts, instead relying on antiquated security measures. As a result, IoT devices are extremely useful when achieving the desired level of security.
Smart cards, surveillance cameras, gunshot detection systems, smart door locks, bus tracking technology, and other technologies can assist in overcoming major security threats such as trespassers, theft, and bullying cases. For example, Magicard manufactures smart cards that are used as personal keys by students and personnel to gain access to classrooms, science labs, and campuses, thereby preventing unwanted individuals from entering the educational institution’s territory.
Interactive Learning
Traditional learning methods and tools are difficult to engage today’s learners because they prefer to use smart devices. Touchpads integrated into teaching boards, and student desks, electronic diaries, interactive boards, and other similar devices have been shown to improve student engagement and performance significantly.
Promethean, for example, makes an IoT-based solution called ActivPanel, which is an interactive display with features like a unified menu experience, palm detection, proximity sensors, and so on, that allows teachers and students to collaborate engagingly at the same time. School districts across the United States reported that such a device increased students’ school achievement by 60%, reduced annual spending on printing materials by 54%, and improved teacher satisfaction in 66% of schools.
Monitoring of Students’ Physical and Mental States
Children’s well-being is finally getting the attention it deserves, thanks to the assistance of smart devices. A growing number of progressive schools are leveraging the capabilities of various IoT devices, such as smartwatches for detecting early signs of depression, blood oxygen measurement, wearable devices for tracking basic health indicators, and other solutions that help monitor children’s health in real-time, detect changes in their condition and notify school administrators and parents.
Administration of Resources
Without an efficient digital solution, managing all school processes is an impossible burden. Fortunately, IoT devices can help educational institutions manage many internal processes. IoT devices are frequently used for resource management, such as monitoring power and water consumption. IoT sensors, for example, can be installed in lighting and water faucets. Sensors will be able to turn off lights in empty rooms to save energy and water. As a result, implementing such devices can save schools a significant amount of money.
Changing Disabilities Into Abilities
Every day, children with disabilities face numerous challenges as a result of educational institutions’ unsuitable learning environments. Smart education IoT solutions can help these students by improving on-campus conditions and allowing them to receive the best education possible. IoT devices can help students communicate with their classmates and teachers more effectively, as well as move around the school more easily.
Deaf children, for example, can use devices to convert their sign language into verbal speech. Smart doors, for example, can also make it easier for children in wheelchairs to move around the school grounds. IoT devices can assist children with special needs in breaking down barriers and making their lives and learning more fulfilling.
Examples of IoT In Education
1. Promethean
Promethean creates interactive displays that incorporate multi-touch, dry-erase, and natural writing technologies, as well as cloud-based lesson delivery software and personalized educator training. The ActivPanel 9 from the company includes key features such as an intuitive remote for navigation, the ability to record lessons, and multiple sign-in options for security.
2. Kaltura Inc.
Kaltura’s video management and creation tools enable students and teachers in and out of the classroom to create, edit, and deliver high-quality video to any device in real time or on demand. The ultimate goal of the company is to increase interaction and creativity to improve the overall learning experience.
3. SweetRush
SweetRush creates, builds, and tests mobile and e-learning education solutions. Customized instructor-led training provides real-time feedback, and tools such as competitive games and audio/video animation boost participation and retention. For a large financial services firm that wanted its call staff to learn and practice new skills without the need for classroom training and role-playing, the company created a simulated call-center experience.
4. Blackboard
Blackboard, a subsidiary of Anthology, offers “a connected learning experience and support network” for a variety of fields, including K-12 and higher education. The digital learning environment provided by Blackboard personalizes the educational experience, while virtual classroom technology improves collaboration and branded websites keep parents, students, and others up to date on the latest grades, attendance, events, and news.
5. Scanmarker
Scanmarker creates digital highlighters that enable users to quickly scan editable text from books, papers, and other documents and save it to a phone, tablet, or computer. This text is then available in over 40 languages. There’s also a feature that allows you to listen while scanning.
6. IPEVO
IPEVO creates teaching tools such as document cameras, which can be used to present documents both in-person and virtually. According to the company, it limits its products to the necessary technological features to keep costs low and create tools that are intuitive and simple for teachers to use.
7. LocoRobo
LocoRobo, a provider of programming and robotics education, employs robots to teach coding languages such as Python, C, Javascript, and MATLAB. Students in the LocoIoT course learn how to build, design, and connect IoT systems from the ground up. The company released MyLoopy, a tiny AI robot that teaches children how to code. It learns from its surroundings as well as human interactions because it is equipped with sensors that respond to touch, light, sound, and other stimuli.
8. Tynker
Tynker, a BYJU company, teaches children to code using visual code blocks that represent actual programming concepts before moving on to popular languages such as JavaScript and Python. Drones, apps, games, robots, and other devices can all benefit from coding education.
Tynker collaborated with Mattel to teach kids coding through various iterations of the popular action figure Barbie.
9. Magicard
Magicard manufactures a range of student smart cards that can be presented to an authenticating reader and connected to an access control system via IoT. Physical access to facilities, photo ID (with a hologram or UV printing), time and attendance, logical access (to monitor the use of electronic data such as coursework, e-learning resources, printers, and the internet), loyalty and membership, payment (for vending machines, printing, and photocopying), and health data are all examples of cards.
10. Kajeet
Wi-Fi education solutions are created by Kajeet for school buses, mobile hotspots, single devices, and homes. Wi-Fi-enabled school buses, for example, provide students with safe internet connectivity to finish and turn in homework, and Kajeet claims its SmartBus Wi-Fi system is simple to install and includes lifetime maintenance resources.
What Are The Challenges Of Incorporating IoT In Education?
Since we have looked at examples of the Internet of Things in education and their benefits, let’s now look at the problems that such devices can cause.
Security
Ironically, IoT-powered solutions can be used to enable enhanced security for educational organizations while also being the source of various vulnerabilities. For example, an unnamed university’s network was attacked by 5,000 connected devices on campus (including connected vending machines and smart light bulbs) that “were making hundreds of DNS lookups every 15 minutes,” causing the university’s network connectivity to be slow and inaccessible, according to Verizon’s 2017 Data Breach Digest.
Ransomware, smurfing, rogue devices, hardware attacks, and device hijacking are just a few examples of potential security threats that could jeopardize the security of sensitive student, parent, and organization data.
Incompatibility of Devices
The number of IoT devices is currently out of control. A wide range of IoT solutions for education is certainly exciting, but different devices, operating systems, and software solutions may not be compatible.
Aspects of finance
Any school that decides to implement IoT solutions for educational purposes should be prepared to incur costs associated with their implementation, such as regular maintenance, staff training, dependable Wi-Fi connectivity, and so on. Unless the device manufacturer includes it in a bundle, developing a specialized platform or device will necessitate a competent team of developers. All of these aspects necessitate significant investment. Unfortunately, not all schools are financially capable of covering all expenses.
Scalability
One of the most common issues when dealing with IoT infrastructure is scalability. Such a problem frequently arises because all potential risks, such as the increase in the number of users, features, or appliances, were not considered during the development stage. Poor scalability can have serious consequences, such as longer maintenance times, latency issues, and unexpectedly high costs.
Bottom Line
Today, the Internet of Things (IoT) in education plays an important role in shaping the industry. IoT devices assist educators in improving collaboration, increasing engagement, and improving distance learning. Furthermore, new technologies benefit students with disabilities as well as rural learners.
We can anticipate that the advancement of IoT in education will have an even greater impact in the coming years. Let us see what new IoT trends emerge in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
The IoT market has been rapidly expanding in recent years, and this is an excellent time to enter this niche. For example, the IoT market is expected to be worth $19.57 billion by the end of 2027, with a CAGR of 17.74 percent.
Despite numerous benefits, educational institutions may face several significant challenges when implementing IoT solutions. The most serious issues are device incompatibility, a lack of financial resources, scalability issues, and multiple security threats such as ransomware, smurfing, rogue devices, hardware attacks, and so on, which can result in unpredictable spending, data loss, and reputational damage.
It is difficult to provide a precise figure because many factors can influence price estimation. The cost of developing an IoT-enabled smart education system varies depending on the complexity of the features, the tech stack chosen, the desired deadline, the budget, whether it is an MVP or a full-fledged product, and many other factors. The location of the software vendor may also have an impact on the cost of such a solution.
IoT devices are nonstandard computing devices that can connect to a network wirelessly and transmit data, such as the many devices on the internet of things (IoT).
References
- builtin.com – IoT in Education: 10 Connected Classroom Examples
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