Basing the teaching-learning process on innovation and technology has become a fundamental condition for any educational institution that wishes to take on avant-garde positions. Regarding the use of technologies in the classroom and in educational management, more and more devices and resources are being created and improved to bring education closer to students' hyperconnected reality. And the flagship, without a doubt, is the so-called Internet of Things (IoT, acronym for Internet of Things), which we will cover in this post.
Thanks to the rise of mobile technology and IoT, the institution is able to be completely connected, from administrative functions, such as reception, security and academic management, to its core business, that is, the act of educating itself.
Therefore, in this article we have created a guide explaining what this IoT technology means and the impact of the Internet of Things on education and offering insights into the benefits of its use. Follow the next lines and enjoy reading!
What is the Internet of Things?
Before talking directly about education, it is worth conceptualizing the meaning of the Internet of Things in a simple and direct way. According to Forbes magazine, we can understand IoT technology as “the connection of any device with an on-off button to the Internet” ― an excellent communication tool that makes users' lives easier.
And any equipment can be part of this list: cell phones, washing machines, headphones, lamps, portable devices, traffic and shopping apps, etc. But this also applies to automobiles, jet engines, and even drilling on an oil rig.
The power of IoT technology is so great and profitable that the North American consultancy Gartner predicted, five years ago, that there will be more than 26 billion connected devices in the world by 2020. And she was right: a giant network of connections receiving and transmitting information all the time grows every day.
But this connection is not limited to “things”. It is interesting to note that IoT also impacts relationships, which will be person to person, person to things, and things to things.
IoT technology in educational institutions
IoT technology is part of the so-called Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which are increasingly present in education.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) highlights, among other benefits, that ICTs contribute to “the quality of teaching and learning, the professional development of teachers, as well as [can] improve management, governance, and educational administration by providing the right and organized mix of policies, technologies and capabilities”.
This is, therefore, a key characteristic of the vision of education for the future. One of the main reasons, as researchers from the Australian Curtin University state, is that “IoT enables advanced services through the interconnection of information and communication technologies”.
By using the Internet of Things, the school can become fully connected and provide information about the student's full-time experience and stay. This creates a gigantic database that enables better decision-making, both from the point of view of a more efficient teaching-learning process and administratively.
In everyday relationships with students and infrastructure issues, for example, the Internet of Things can help teachers and staff reduce the effort and time spent on repetitive activities. Among them, we can highlight:
checking student attendance, both in the classroom and on school grounds;
location of faculty and staff;
facility security;
tracking objects and equipment, such as books, laptops, and materials for internal use;
input control;
cleaning and organizing property.
Pedagogical Process and IoT
With regard to the pedagogical process, the Internet of Things is associated with neuroscience devices to enable more effective learning, whether at the individual or collective level.
Through this facet of IoT technology, it is possible to monitor the level of performance and engagement of students in each subject and specific subject. Thus, it is possible to provide personalized learning mechanisms, according to the personal characteristics of each student, giving a different profile to the classes in each class. From this, we see an unprecedented immersion in the school that makes the environment interactive, in accordance with the needs of learning in the digital age.
To this end, it is important that the school knows how to identify what objectives it wants to establish with the use of the Internet of Things and then develop a network architecture for the set of applications.
What are the main characteristics of IoT?
From a pedagogical point of view, IoT technology meets the generation of “digital natives”, a term coined by writer and education specialist Mark Prensky. This term defines people who were born at a time when digital technologies and the internet were already taking over the world.
These people can easily move between different technologies, are fluent users of the World Wide Web, and easily adapt to new technological developments.
In this sense, teaching these young people implies that education reinvents itself and leaves the theoretical field to enter a field of achievements with the use of technology and its tools.
Therefore, the presence of technology in the classroom is a sine qua non condition for teachers to have an infinite number of possibilities for transformative education that is contextualized with today's society.
From an infrastructure and management point of view, IoT technology can make objects more efficient and allow them to receive complementary attributes, such as applications that associate the functions for which they are designed with related activities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the integration of IoT technology into educational institutions represents a significant advancement in the realm of teaching and learning. By leveraging the power of connectivity, educational institutions can streamline administrative tasks, enhance security measures, and personalize the learning experience for students. The Internet of Things not only facilitates efficient management but also fosters a dynamic and interactive learning environment that resonates with the digital natives of today.
As we continue to embrace innovation in education, it is imperative for institutions to harness the potential of IoT technology to propel forward into a future of enhanced educational experiences. For further inquiries or assistance with technology integration, feel free to reach out to us at Dygital 9.