Until the pandemic struck, educational institutions in India used chalk and talk for lectures and a manual attendance process by using roll call and other administrative processes.
Topics like Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) were restricted to debates and academic discussions. But COVID-19 forced them to explore technological tools, something that other sectors had already done and reaped many benefits.
What is IoT?
It is an environment in which physical entities that have inbuilt sensors and software can exchange data and information automatically with each other without manual intervention over the Internet. This has the potential to dramatically transform the process of learning and also update administrative systems. Some of the uses have been listed below:
Tracking movement: Integrated systems of IoT, which automatically transmits information about the child boarding the bus, the bus reaching the school and the child entering the school premises, can be available to both parents and teachers via an app and automated messages.
Attendance system: Teachers and faculty members need not waste time on roll call. Instead, the student’s identity card automatically communicates with the sensors in the classroom and marks attendance.
Automatic sharing: Taking notes and marking critical points is an integral part of a student’s class activity. But, with IoT, all the contents on the black/whiteboard is automatically converted into a portable document and shared over email.
Session capture: An IoT environment automatically captures a classroom session (audio and video) and puts it on a shareable drive. This can be accessed by those students who missed the class. This way learning becomes both inclusive and accessible.
Ensuring security: With COVID-19 still doing the rounds, an IoT-based system integrated with CCTVs can scan the campus and spot people who are not wearing masks. The coordinates can be sent as an SMS and a email to the administrative authority for further action.
Read and translate: IoT can also be used to quickly scan editable text from books, papers and other documents directly into a phone, tablet or computer and translate into more than 40 languages.
This allows students to read the content in the language they are comfortable with and to use the application to read and listen to the text.
Thus, using IoT in educational institutions allows a better connected and more collaborative and inclusive learning environment.
The writer is Professor and Director Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune
