Have you seen, tried or heard of someone turning on their lights at home by asking Google to do it? That is an example of an Internet of Things device. Internet of Things (IoT) is the interconnection of different devices, physical objects and the existing Internet "by embedding sensors to capture physical properties, and actuators to control their states" (Vlasios, 2019). IoT enables smart objects to communicate and transmit data with each other to accomplish tasks autonomously in various settings such as homes, humans, schools, retail, offices, factories, worksites, vehicles, cities and outside (Tsiatsis et al., 2019).
Let us dive deeper into two of these settings: humans and schools.
Humans: Wearable IoT devices help humans complete tasks and increase productivity. It can be through the use of augmented reality, sensors and cameras.
Schools: IoT can contribute to the creation of smart schools and sustainable education.
Security & Privacy: When systems are connected to the Internet and collecting data, there is always the risk of data being compromised giving hackers the chance to launch cyberattacks and paralyze the whole system. This could pose a huge risk for all users if data is not managed safely.
Scalability & Reliability: With a large amount of data, there is a need to have in place data analysis functions to retrieve insights out of them. Therefore, IoT systems should be scalable and reliable enough to provide solutions equally to all users.
Dehumanization & Ethical Concerns: Giving IoT applications access to our lives also means that these are in control of some power that we gave up in exchange for their assistance. Dehumanization could happen if one day, these applications work on their own without human input. To mitigate this risk, control protocols need to be in place and humans need to learn how to properly use these technologies and protect themselves.
(Zeeshan et al., 2022)
For school management
Integrating IoT applications in schools can bring great benefits to different aspects of school management such as:
Strengthening the on-campus security to detect and respond to incidents more quickly.
Monitoring student activities and health through Bluetooth low-energy technology and sensors that track their student cards and wearable devices.
Providing smart transport with GPS mechanisms or sensors to detect any issues that could affect the security of students. School management can track these using their mobile devices.
For educators
IoT applications can support teachers in the following ways:
Implementing new pedagogies methods to accommodate students' learning styles and methods. For example, an IoT application can support teachers in implementing a flipped classroom where students would learn the content at home through videos and work on assignments with peers and then refine their learning at school with the teacher's facilitation. The learning could be done on their mobile device.
Taking attendance autonomously with the use of biometric sensors.
Using automated assessment tools to evaluate students' work and provide quick feedback.
For students
For virtual classes or smart-phoned based online classes, the use of IoT can help students increase their productivity and enhance their learning. Here are some examples:
An IoT device can scan any documents or books, shift the scanned content to the mobile device and make it editable, and translate it into different languages.
Learning management systems can provide customized learning to students.
Wearable IoT devices can act as assistive tools for students with disabilities.
(Zeeshan et al., 2022)