The internet of things, or the connection of devices other than traditional computers such as laptops and PCs, is set to completely transform our lives in the coming years. On that list is the transformation of the educational sector through IoT. This transformation is accelerating by the day. If you look around, you will notice that every student has a smart device that they use to connect to their school or any educational institute.
With the advancement of technology, educational institutes can increase campus safety, improve educational quality, relieve teachers of tedious paperwork, and keep track of enrollments.
This article will look at IoT applications in the educational sector.
Table of Contents
What role does Iot play in education?
According to market retail, approximately 82 percent of children aged 12 to 17 own smartphones and use them for educational and recreational purposes.
The next generation is already glued to their phones, and the majority of their activities are dependent on them.
There are concerns about user safety and protection, but there is no doubt that IoT has enormous potential to improve education.
The application of IoT in educational institutes can be viewed from two perspectives: teachers’/staff’s perceptions and students’ perceptions.
Teachers can keep track of their students’ whereabouts. Sensors in classrooms, libraries, and canteens communicate student location or information to teachers, who can then assess student attendance accordingly.
The use of IoT in the classroom allows teachers to monitor the class virtually or remotely.
IoT Implementation in the Education Sector
Energy Administration
Rising global warming concerns necessitate education reforms to conserve limited energy resources.
The printing of notebooks and textbooks in large quantities wastes paper.
Textbooks are now available in electronic form on devices for students to read and edit via IoT.
Installing sensors and actuators in faucets and lights so that they turn off automatically when no one is around. The Internet of Things aids in the reduction of harmful emissions such as CO2 and CO in the atmosphere.
Remote and secure access to classes
IoT contributes to the creation of a safe and secure environment for students. Most institutes around the world have switched to remote education, which has been made possible by IoT.
Sensors placed throughout the campus assist in monitoring student activities and intervening in cases of bullying or damage to school property. RFID tags embedded in student ID cards track students’ attendance daily.
Keeping track of the health of students and faculty
A healthy student body and faculty mean a more productive educational institution. It is critical to ensure that students take care of their health and get enough sleep every day to be more active in class.
Physiological signals detect and monitor the health of students. This data is stored in databases and allows doctors to easily analyze student health.
IoT also aids in the storage of information such as blood pressure, medical history, allergies, and prescription details to provide necessary treatment in the event of an unfortunate accident.
Tools for enhancing interactive learning
With the help of IoT, education can be made much more enjoyable and interesting. It keeps students interested in learning and, in general, aids in the development of their personalities and the sharpening of their minds.
Even if a student is ill, learning can still take place via virtual classrooms on TVs and mobile phones.
Learning becomes more engaging with IoT-based graphic classrooms that bring textbooks to life with 3D graphics, colors, and noises.
Voice-to-text converters, for example, aid in taking notes more effectively and easily.
Interactive whiteboards
An electronic board, also known as a smartboard, is a great example of how IoT makes teachers’ jobs easier and learning more enjoyable.
They are simple to use, dependable, and student-friendly. It enables you to display images on the board and interact with them.
Because the board is a touch screen, you can manipulate the screen, move images around, draw graphics, and do a variety of other things to personalize learning.
Colors and voices are used to draw and create 3D objects with smartpens.
Teachers’ lessons are converted into notes by voice-to-text sensors and emailed directly to students.
Disability supervision
Children with disabilities, such as dyslexia, are frequently overlooked when developing educational materials. Special applications that aid student learning for students with disabilities can be created using IoT. Transcripts convert voice to sound, allowing students with hearing impairments to read the notes. Students who are blind or visually impaired benefit from sound to voice technology. Tablets with special apps are revolutionizing education for disabled students. These apps are examined in order to aid learning.
Evaluation of attendance and exams
Certain institutions have rules that a student must follow to pass, such as maintaining 80% attendance to pass the semester, and so on.
IoT applications track student attendance and provide reports to faculty and staff.
Students with low attendance receive a message, and they can track their performance on applications developed using IoT technology.
Students can take exams remotely thanks to IoT. Sensors embedded in devices can monitor student movement to ensure that they do not cheat.
Enhancement of safety
Technology and education go hand in hand in schools. Many IoT applications are used in schools to help protect students.
Among these is fire detection sensors. In the event of a fire, sensors alert the school and even call the fire department.
Monitoring online activity to ensure that students are not accessing explicit content while on school grounds.
Video surveillance is used to keep track of student activities outside of class or during lunch breaks.
Other IoT applications to ensure school safety include digital signage, access control, and visitor management.
AR in the classroom
Augmented Reality is a technology that allows for real-time interaction and brings audio, video, and graphics to life. This aids students’ learning and comprehension of concepts.
AR project mapping concepts show distances physically on the ground, allowing students to better perceive topics.
AR facilitates interactive learning in classroom settings and does not confine learning to books and textbooks.
Temperature Control in the Workplace
Temperature requirements in classrooms and gymnasiums vary.
IoT applications alter the temperature and lighting conditions based on their surroundings.
These applications can also detect human presence and turn off or on the electricity as needed.
Data collection in real time
One of the most serious concerns about the current educational system is that most of the curricula and teaching methods are out of date. That is, the topics do not appeal to today’s students.
IoT aids in data collection and analytics to produce topics that emphasize student interaction, focus, and promote learning on a much larger scale.
IoT also aids in the collection of data on staff and student preferences in order to improve the production of school gadgets, accessories, and information.
Safety on School Buses
Parents are concerned about sending their children to school on school buses because of rash drivers and the high number of accidents involving school buses around the world.
IoT can assist in resolving this issue.
Drivers can use IoT applications to monitor the health of the students on board, and schools can track the driver and the bus from school grounds.
Parents can track their children’s whereabouts to ensure they arrive at school safely and on time.
Speed limits and tire punctures can also be checked using IoT to generate alerts in the event of a hazard.
Ensure that children arrive home safely
Many parents are concerned about their children not arriving home on time or getting lost on the way home from school. IoT is assisting children and parents by ensuring that their children arrive home on time.
Sensors in school bags or shoes, for example, send details and whereabouts of a child’s location to their parents.
This allows parents to keep an eye on their children from afar. When a child is in danger, this IoT app sends out an alert.
When a child deviates from the main roads leading to the home, these apps send location information to parents and nearby police departments.
Educators
Just as important as students are in the educational system, teachers, tutors, and professors are as well.
Teachers’ jobs are made easier by IoT.
IoT applications track students’ attendance, keep track of their progress, and list students based on various criteria such as grade, sports, and so on.
It bridges the gap between students and teachers by assisting teachers in better understanding the needs of their students.
Examination Surveillance
Examinations are critical to a student’s success. As a result, it is critical to devise a mechanism to ensure that exams are conducted properly and fairly.
The Internet of Things is assisting educational institutions in maintaining discipline during examinations.
IoT embedded LED screens are assisting in the detection of faint noises and sending alerts to examiners.
These devices also display warning messages to students.
Advantages of IoT in Education
1. Efficient school system management: IoT is reducing the time and cost of spending money on manual tasks such as paperwork, managing funds, and tracking supplies.
- Data collection in real time: IoT processes terabytes of data at the same time. This data forecasts and analyzes student and staff activities in order to build an efficient and dependable school system.
- Improvements in Resource Management: IoT is assisting in the management and rescue of water and electricity consumption. Because of IoT systems in education, the use of paper has been significantly reduced.
- Global connections: Because IoT systems require the internet, it connects and exposes you to schools and universities all over the world. This provides you with a platform to interact with global systems and improve educational quality.
- 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 the resources to fund a proper education. IoT is addressing these concerns and ensuring that the child feels safe and secure while receiving a high-quality education.
Disadvantages of incorporating IoT in education
1. Expensive infrastructure: IoT-managed systems are expensive to set up and maintain. It necessitates a substantial amount of software and hardware. To manage the school system, a skilled team of IT officials would be required.
- In-class morals: IoT grades knowledge-based tests, but there should be safeguards in place to prevent cheating, plagiarism, or other forms of fraud as a means of passing the test.
- Inadequate data storage infrastructure: IoT necessitates the storage of large amounts of data processing information in the cloud. Traditional data storage methods are incompatible with IoT ecosystems.
- Security and safety concerns: IoT exposes private information to thousands of online users who can manipulate it for their own gain. IoT allows access to data and information about students and staff. Hackers gain access to this sensitive information.
