IoT: Changing the Classroom Equals Better Learning

Say goodbye to your No. 2 pencils and chalkboards – digitization and connected devices of IoT are changing the face of classrooms.

A teacher may spend an entire class session writing notes from the day’s lesson on a chalkboard while students copy in notebooks. Through connected devices, writing on a smartboard can transfer to student laptops, smartphones or tablets. This allows for greater interaction with material as students can engage with their teacher rather than devote all their attention on copying information.

Textbooks go out of date quickly and are a static way of learning. Through IoT, students have access to more dynamic tools, such as videos, websites, games and others. They can take a virtual trip to a volcano while learning about geography, virtually dissect animals in biological studies and 3D models can provide visual representations of complex mathematics. These dynamic tools help enhance student comprehension and engagement.

IoT for Individual Student Needs

On an individual level, IoT can analyze student progress and comprehension. If a student starts to fall behind their peers, a notification can be sent to their teacher who can step in to help. IoT can even suggest individualized lessons and activities to help get the student back on track. Similar individualized plans can be utilized for students with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, autism and ADHD without having to separate them from their peers.

IoT can also translate text to speech for students with visual impairments, sign language for the hearing impaired or a localized language a foreign student may be more comfortable learning in. Specialized gloves connected to an app can translate sign language into speech to allow a student with a hearing impairment to better communicate with their teacher.

For teachers, IoT can automate attendance, lesson plans, student schedules, end-of-term reports, paper grading, the distributing of in-class exercises or homework and more. This frees up time for teachers and allows them to be more engaged with their students.

Expanding Student Opportunities through IoT

Greater connectivity can exist not just across learning tools but across schools. Students in small or rural cities can take more specialized classes from other institutions, allowing them access to further learning opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise. Students can also connect globally to classrooms in other countries to enhance culture or language studies.

For administration, IoT can track inventory of school resources, such as smartboards, computers, desks, etc. Facial recognition or physical monitors can count students and staff and increase security. Financial reports and overall analytics of school performance can be automatically generated. Buses and their routes can be tracked by GPS, and parents can be alerts when their children arrive home.

In any application, IoT is opening exciting advances in education.