Just like any other technology, the internet of things (IoT) took a little time in getting established, but now it is growing faster than ever and in the future, it is being predicted that people’s lives will depend on it for everyday routines. IoT is not just connecting smartphones, computers, and wearables, but everything. More and more devices are becoming reliant on IoT to serve people.
In 2025, it is predicted that the IoT devices will generate 79.4 Zettabytes of data according to the IDC (International Data Corporation). Also, IoT is estimated to grow at a rate of 28.7% annually from 2020 to 2025.
In another projection made by Statista Research Department, around the year 2022, the projected worldwide expenditure of IoT will be around $1 trillion.
What Is IoT?
The question that many people ask nowadays is ‘What is IoT?”.
If you are reading this post then you have accessed it on the internet through your desktop, laptop, mobile, a tablet or whatever device you are using. An internet connection used to be a luxury but now it has become a staple of our everyday life. We use it for multiple purposes every day. If you remember the time before smartphones, you will recall that you had mobile phones that you could use to text someone or call someone, but that was it. You couldn’t listen to music, you couldn’t read a book or watch a movie. Those are just a few of the incredible things that smartphones have allowed us to do.
The Internet of Things is a pretty simple concept. It means that we take all of our devices around the world and connect them to the internet. We’ve all seen the benefits of connecting our laptops, mobiles, tablets, and other devices, now we are talking about ALL devices. And that is what IoT is all about.
Role Of IoT In Education
IoT is performing in almost every industry and changing the way those industries work. This includes manufacturing, healthcare, retail and now IoT has entered the field of education. IoT has a lot of promise for the field of education and it will give rise to multiple applications that will enable students to study in a more innovative and focused way.
Every year, colleges and universities across the globe see millions of students enrolled but out of those students, only around 50% will see their graduation. Almost half of the enrolled students will drop out. If this trend continues, a lot of students’ careers will be destroyed as well as their lives. IoT is providing educators with alternate methods of teaching and learning so that everyone can experience interactive and dynamic learning and everyone gets a chance at a good career. It can ensure that learning becomes more agile and the quality of education sees an improvement.
Different Ways IOT Can Help Education
SMART CLASSROOMS
We used to have smart teachers and smart students, now we are seeing smart classrooms. This means that classrooms can integrate different IoT devices and gadgets to improve the overall quality of education being dispensed. Wearables can easily detect the engagement level of the students and inform the teacher. If teachers have real-time access to this data they can incorporate different strategies like taking a break, playing a game, or giving some SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) time to students so they are energized again.
Classrooms can also have IoT powered whiteboards that can be connected to the students’ devices and provide every student with a dynamic and interactive display. Students can write their comments, ask questions, and make notes on their devices by using their fingertips, stylus or anything else and those will be displayed on the board or to the teacher.
These whiteboards will also be able to keep records of all the notes taken in the class and at the end of the lesson provide all these notes to students in a pdf format or any other format. Professors and teachers can assign tasks to the students on these boards and those assignments will be automatically updated on all the students’ devices.
Student Attendance
A lot of time is consumed in routine and mundane tasks like taking the attendance, identifying who is missing and letting them or their parents know about the leave. With IoT, these boring and time-consuming tasks can be easily accomplished automatically without the teacher or the professor wasting precious lesson time. IoT wearable devices can be incorporated for this purpose and the professor will be able to know the exact attendance of the class as soon as he walks in. These records can be maintained as attendance logs in real-time. Not only will this save precious time, but it will also eliminate human error.
Disability Assistance
One of the most difficult tasks put in front of any teacher is to teach children who are disabled in some way. These daunting tasks can be made easier by incorporating IoT technology. Hearing-impaired children can wear gloves that are linked to the teacher’s laptop or any other device. When the children use their hands to communicate, the gloves will translate the signs into language and tell the teacher what the children are saying. The signs can also be translated into speech. Similarly, the teacher can teach visually impaired children through audio files and communicates. The teacher will write the lesson on the whiteboard and it will be translated into a speech that will be then sent to the students’ devices as audio files.
Global Education
Students whose parents are wealthy enough can travel around the world looking for the best learning opportunities, but those are only a handful of students. Not every student can afford that. With IoT in the mix, now every child has the opportunity to learn from the best no matter what their physical location. This aspect can greatly enhance students who are living in third world countries and don’t have access to a better standard of education. Students can stay in the comfort of their homes or schools and interact with experts in their fields who are thousands of miles away. A student in an underdeveloped country can have complete access to astrophysics, artificial intelligence, and other subjects.
As far as education is concerned, IoT can be the key enabler in the education of students worldwide. It can make everything possible for children who are not able to afford the type of education that will help them become great leaders and help their countries out of poverty, famine, and other destructive elements. Many educational institutes recognize all these benefits of IoT but are deterred because of the initial infrastructure costs. But if an effective implementation strategy is developed, they can get great advantages from IoT.
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Hey Vishwajeet,
Internet Internet Internet, This is unstoppable and it is everywhere.
The way you and I use mobile phones has changed, you use it more for internet surfing unlike early days just to make phone calls and messages.
Students are so distracted because of the internet. You don’t have any problem unless your kids are studying well even with the phones but what is your response to the internet when your kids started using it instead of playing outdoors and studying every day?
I know it’s hard or I should say it is almost impossible to avoid the internet completely.
It’s good to explore but don’t forget that you live in a world where you are required to socialize with people (physically).
I appreciate your thoughts about this.
Regards,
🙂
Hello Jeangam,
The Internet has both good and bad things. It depends on how you actually use it. The Internet is a vast place of limitless knowledge. You can every kind of information there. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
Regards,
Vishwajeet Kumar