People are swiftly adopting new technologies nowadays. Besides computers, mobiles, and tablets, we connect household appliances, cars, and various control systems to the Internet. Different organizations are also actively implementing device interconnectivity to improve the speed and quality of work, and the education industry is no exception.
Schools and universities are concerned about learning efficiency, students’ safety, management automation, etc. The demand for smart devices continues to grow. IoT in the education market was estimated at $5.3 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach $19.5 Billion by 2027, increasing a CAGR by 17.7% from 2020 to 2027.
If you’re developing an EdTech product, it’s about time to think of how you can improve your solution with IoT to bring more value to your target audience.
Why the education sector needs IoT
One of the main tasks of the educational sector is a constant improvement of the educational experience. The problem is that the US educational system’s methods to enhance the quality of education are inefficient and outdated. Schools and universities provide education accessibility by hiring more educators, but hiring more personnel doesn’t necessarily mean increasing the quality of education.
The same thing is happening with learning materials. Educational institutions spend budgets on printed textbooks, but they quickly become irrelevant and don’t fit new teaching strategies. Besides that, the educational system has a complex apparatus for adopting new policies; therefore, educational institutions need solutions that can adapt to existing realities.
IoT scope in education
Internet of Things includes any smart devices which can transmit data to each other by Internet. Schools and universities use IoT to track students’ attendance, provide security, engage students in the learning process, and adjust education for students who require special treatment.
Some IoT devices include smart boards, door locks, fire alarms, security systems, mobile applications, learning software, etc.
The impact of IoT on education
Interconnected devices facilitate many educational tasks. Smart classrooms, security systems, management software provide educators with tools to make the learning process efficient.
With the help of technology, learning methodologies move towards personalized learning, which teaches students in-demand skills such as critical thinking, technical literacy, creativity, and adaptive problem-solving. Let’s discover how the Internet of Things improves education.
Increased learner engagement
Content consumption has increased significantly since the Internet became accessible to almost every person in the world. Modern kids consume a large amount of information through social media, and they are used to interacting with video and images. There’s no way teachers can hold students’ attention during the lesson with just a textbook nowadays.
IoT devices can increase students’ engagement by offering them learning content they can interact with. Take interactive tables as an example. Gamified applications for such a device can transform a lesson into a fascinating journey through our planet, galaxy, or history. Students pick the direction, predict historical events and solve tasks during the trip.
Statistics say that 67% of students think gamified learning is more motivating than traditional lessons. And with IoT devices, it becomes more engaging too.
Better tools for educators
Educators spend a lot of time managing routine tasks which are not related to teaching. Instead, machines can perform such duties as paperwork management, tests assessment, students’ attendance tracking, classroom and lab resources monitoring, etc.
IoT devices such as wearables and smart sensors can track students’ whereabouts and notify educators about a lack of resources. Learning software like an LMS can provide students with real-time feedback, freeing educators from assessing intermediate tests. As a result, teachers get more time to develop new methodologies and increase learning efficiency.
Personalized learning
Personalized learning uses Big Data to develop individual learning paths for each student. Any device students use for educational purposes can track their activities and collect information about their time on tasks, questions they skip during exams, typical mistakes, etc. Based on this information, machine learning algorithms suggest individualized learning materials and functions increase students’ performance.
IoT devices contribute to personalized learning development by sharing the data they track about students. The more data the algorithms process, the more precise learning paths they can provide.
Enhanced access control
Students’ safety and security are a top priority for each educational institution. Internet of Things can provide schools with a security system that tracks each person entering the facility. Smart cards can serve as a pass to the building that each student and school worker has.
Such a system will prevent strangers from passing and will collect information about students’ attendance. Besides that, an access control system can limit access to the labs, libraries, and other rooms which students cannot enter without permission.
Another useful IoT appliance is cashless payment systems for schools. Some schools in the US provided a cashless payment system to manage money turnover. It protects students’ money from being stolen or lost.
A better learning experience for students with special needs
The huge benefit of the IoT in the education industry is that it can provide an inclusive learning environment for students with special needs. For example, teachers can use voice assistants to provide audio content for visually impaired students or transform lectures into texts for hearing-impaired students.
The interconnected microphones, tablets, and VR devices can provide a supportive and calm atmosphere where students with special needs can learn at their own pace and keep academic performance high.
IoT EdTech: use cases and examples
The IoT provides education with digital infrastructure, which improves the learning experience. Due to technology, traditional lessons give away to interactive and engaging learning. Let’s look at how IoT solutions are changing the game.
Learning productivity
Education has just started the way towards embracing technology, and many educational institutions can’t afford total digitalization. Schools still use printed learning materials, textbooks, chalkboards, etc.
Outdated supplies affect students’ productivity as students have to spend more time going through the learning content, while technology could boost this process.
One of the IoT devices that boosts learners’ productivity is the C-PEN tool. C-PEN is a gadget that looks like a pen and has sensors for printed text recognition. Users can swipe the device over the book and see the text on the screen or transform it to audio.
C-PEN allows students to switch from reading to listening, which increases content perception. It’s also an excellent tool for students with dyslexia or the visually impaired.
Connected classroom
The concept of a connected classroom allows educators to provide an active learning environment through mobile and portable devices. An interconnected classroom system includes smart boards, tables with touchscreens, tablets, computers, etc.
Electronic devices in the classroom help teachers build interactive lessons, where students engage in the learning process, develop their decision-making skills and stay focused during class.
Promethean provides interactive displays and lesson delivery software to make lessons easy for both students and teachers. Promethean’s ActivPanel works without computer support due to its application suite, which simplifies interaction. The ActivPanel screen is susceptible, and it can recognize whether the user uses ActivPen, a finger, or a palm to write.
One of the most valued features of Promethean technology is the screen division. Teachers can display the tasks on one side of the screen and freeze them, while students can solve them on the other side without opening multiple windows or wiping the task. Promethean ActivPanel also records the screen during the lesson, so students and teachers can revise it later.
Remote learning
Technology opened the door to remote learning and teaching opportunities. With computers and the Internet, teachers can be flexible and provide distance education.
Although educators and learners can communicate from the comfort of their homes, learning accessibility is still limited. Teachers don’t have enough learning materials and tools to conduct a practical lesson. They have to spend additional time adapting content for remote lessons.
In such cases, IoT devices come in handy. An IPEVO document camera is an effective tool for remotely demonstrating anything from math formulas to lab experiments. High resolution and recording features allow teachers to create learning content quickly or transmit it in real-time.
Accessible learning
The IoT in the education industry helps people with disabilities get a comprehensive learning experience. Smart devices provide seamless communication with people with speech disorders, visual and hearing impairment, etc.
Microphones, speech and text interpreters, inclusive applications ease up the learning process for students and teachers. Schools use IoT devices to provide students with a supportive and comfortable learning environment. As a result, students access the knowledge base and keep up with academic curricula.
Take Snap Core First as an example. Snap Core First is an application that facilitates communication for people with speech and language disabilities. It uses symbols and images to help people express their thoughts. It provides engagement and language skill growth through a user-friendly interface and vast symbols library.
Learning facility security
Schools and parents are concerned about students’ safety before, during, and after lessons. More than 3 thousand threats and incidents of violence occurred in the US K-12 schools during the 2018–2019 school year.
Implementing IoT systems could enhance students’ safety. The system includes sensors, cameras, mobile phones, GPS, etc., to track students’ location. IoT security systems enable quick emergency response, attendance control, and real-time reporting about students’ movement.
One of the ways to provide a security system in schools is by implementing an ID card for each student. Magicard offers different types of cards to ensure school security. Physical access cards, photo ID and attendance cards, logical access, and data cards keep all the necessary information about a student’s location, medical and contact information, attendance, etc. These records help school administrators provide the required assistance on time.
How Riseapps can help you create an educational IoT solution
If you’re interested in developing an e-learning solution based on IoT, you should choose sensors and devices you’ll work with. Check if they provide APIs to connect the devices with your application. Besides that, you should consider device spread and network coverage when planning your platform.
Riseapps developers’ team has built several successful e-learning platforms and provided IoT integration. Our expertise can help you create a sustainable and competitive product in the shortest time.
Wrapping up
Schools are forced to rapid digitalization nowadays. That is why developing IoT-based software could be profitable. Such hybrid solutions could satisfy the educational sector’s need for quick and workable solutions.
The Internet of Things brings a lot of opportunities for the educational sector. It helps to improve the learning process by making it personalized and engaging. IoT devices facilitate teachers’ work by automating routine tasks. Such a set of connected devices enhances security systems, provides access control, and opens new learning experiences.
FAQs
Why does IoT matter in education?
The Internet of Things brings a lot of opportunities for the educational sector. It helps to improve the learning process by making it personalized and engaging. IoT devices facilitate teachers’ work by automating routine tasks. The set of connected devices enhances security systems, provides access control and opens new learning experiences.
How is IoT beneficial in making a smart classroom?
Besides a computer and Wi-Fi, smart classrooms require other devices to provide an interactive learning environment. IoT devices for a smart classroom include tablets, smartboards, tables with touchscreens, projectors, cameras, etc. IoT makes the learning environment engaging. Students can easily shift from one activity to another, using their decision-making skills and creativity.
What problems does IoT solve in the education industry?
The IoT provides smooth digitalization for the education industry. As teachers were forced to adopt distance learning during the coronavirus pandemic, they discovered a shortage of digital learning materials. IoT helps teachers provide learning content from anywhere. The other problem IoT solves for education is a security vulnerability. IoT-connected sensors track students’ location and attendance, provide quick access to personal information in case of an emergency, enable access control to learning materials, labs, etc.
Looking for experienced developers to implement IoT in EdTech? Contact us.
