The internet of things connects devices such as PCs and laptops that transform our lives. The advancement of digital tools is not only making education global but also making it more inclusive and efficient. Nowadays, every student uses a smart device to connect to their educational institutes or schools. With IoT in education, they can easily record the student’s progress on their portals.
With the increase in technology, IoT has allowed schools or educational institutions to improve the quality of education, increase safety on campus, save teachers from various paperwork, and ease the enrollment path.
IoT facilitates like pre-recorded lectures, live classes, and problem-solving capabilities to personalized software and special servers for educational use.
What is IoT?
It is a compound wireless network of thousands of devices created to collect, share, and receive all information.
These devices can range from mobile phones to biochips to the sensor and huge systems to monitor all of them connected. All physical things that extend their qualities to a virtual space are a piece of the internet of things.
Big data, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, appliances, web-based system, smart devices, and many more come under this wide category as long as they operate on the internet and includes software-based device equipped with that.
IoT in education
The education sector is effective and adaptive in deploying IoT devices for usage, making education more interactive, collaborative, and accessible.
IoT devices provide students reliable access to everything from learning to communication channels for better understanding, and it teaches the ability to measure students learning progress in real time.
Use of IoT in education
● Analyzing classes securely and remotely
IoT helps create a secure and safer environment for students. Most schools and institutions globally are switching to remote means of education, and it is only possible because of IoT.
Sensors are installed around the campus that helps in monitoring students’ activities. RFID tags on students’ ID cards help record students’ attendance daily.
● Distance learning
IoT has the function of formulating and storing data in an application form in the form of a sign-in feature of the website with special software that enables anyone from anywhere to access it with the help of a user id and password, which the institution provides to their distance learning students.
It can help everyone who cannot be a part of a traditional educational institution but still want to attend its educational course. Pre-recorded classes, online timer-based assessment questions, live classes, and tracking of time spent on the portal help create an extensive approach for distance learners.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, IoT has been the main way of organizing classes. With the help of online classes, students can get open booklet-based assessments and take advantage of their classes.
● Enhanced productivity and interaction
Virtual application-based classes make students more interactive. They can understand more clearly, think beyond the classroom horizon, and voice their doubts and learnings.
This interaction-based learning makes students desirous about involvement and participation in the activities, assessment, and even self-learning via scanning the codes on the books to see the digital version.
They can easily revise the topics taught previously at their convenience from the educator’s web portal and access the study material given by them. This process is perfect for making the students more productive and increasing their abilities.
● Smartboards
Smart boards or electronic board is a good example of how IoT makes learning smoother and teachers’ jobs much more manageable. It is easy to use, student-friendly and reliable. It allows to display of the images on the board and helps interact with them.
Smartboards have a touch screen, so you can control the screen, draw graphics, move images, and do much more to personalize learning. Smartpens are useful for creating and drawing 3D objects with colours.
It has voice-to-text sensors that convert teachers’ lectures into notes that are emailed by teachers directly to the students.
● Exams assessment and attendance
Many institutions have rules for students to maintain 80 per cent of attendance to pass the semester. IoT applications maintain students’ attendance and deliver it to staff members.
A message is sent to low-attendance students, who can check their performance on applications developed through IoT technology. Moreover, it also helps in taking exams remotely. Sensors are placed in the devices that can track students’ movement to ensure that the students are not cheating.
● Strengthen safety
In institutions and schools, technology and education go hand to hand. There are so many IoT applications in schools that help in protecting kids. It includes fire detection sensors. Sensors help in alerting the premises and also go ahead and call the fire department in case of danger.
Further, IoT monitors online activity and ensures students do not access explicit content on school premises. It also includes a video monitor that keeps track of students’ activities outside classes and during lunch breaks.
Access control, digital signage, and visitor management are other IoT features for ensuring school safety.
● Bus Safety
Parents are concerned about sending their children to school by bus dues to rash drivers and accidents in school buses worldwide. But IoT helps in resolving this problem. Drivers use IoT applications to monitor the conditions of the students on board. Schools and parents can easily track these buses.
Tire punctures and speed limits can also be checked using IoT to raise alerts in case of danger.
● Perfect management of the school system
IoT helps reduce the cost and time spent on regular work such as paperwork, tracking supplies, and managing funds. It is time-saving and helps save the cost of recording daily information. Teachers can predict and analyze the students’ activities from the data and help build a reliable and efficient school system.
● Students’ safety while going to school
Parents worry about their kids being lost on the way and not coming home on time. IoT provides security to parents by ensuring their kids arrive home on time. But how can this be done?
Sensors in school bags and school shoes of the kids help you do that. It alerts the parents when their kid is in danger. These types of apps provide the location to the parents and the nearby police department whenever a student goes out of the regular road leading to the home.
● Unique Education
Sometimes before, it was primarily impossible and comparatively challenging for specially-abled students to get a detailed and regular education.
With the help of IoT tools and smart devices, the educational curriculum is modified, and classroom environments are made sound and light-sensitive to cater to the special needs of students with sensory disabilities.
Conclusion
Thus, IoT has already started playing a major role in the education sector. With further advancements in this field, we will only be able to see a brighter future for our kids.
