IoT integration improving Singapore's education sector

THE Internet of things (IoT) is a network of physical objects that are connected to the Internet and, by extension, one another. These objects - sensors, smartphones, watches, and electronic items - transmit data via the Internet to the cloud, providing a smarter experience for the user. Research firm IDC has reported that the worldwide IoT market would grow from US$655.8 billion in 2014 to US$1.7 trillion in 2020.

The learning and education domain, with no exception, falls well within the gamut of the IoT. In fact, through the effective use of technology, it is possible to create an infrastructure that can meet education-related needs in Singapore.

The launch of smart classrooms in schools is also expected to change the face of education. Thus, the implementation of IoT in the education industry with outright accountability will improve the quality of the learning process, allowing teachers and students to conduct lessons and discussions remotely through video-conferencing and other systems. IoT has become a part of our everyday life and the future too will be dominated by the same. Its prevalence in the education sector is increasingly becoming noteworthy.

Classrooms today aren't restricted to traditional teaching and learning methods, but can leverage the benefits that IoT and smart technologies can offer. Using high-quality digital material will ensure that every learner is engaged during lessons. For students, the use of tablets, smartphones and computers is no longer limited to just entertainment - these are effective tools for learning. Online learning also saves a significant amount of cost, time and effort.

Institutions have started developing infrastructure to facilitate infocomm technology-enabled education. The use of robotics, smart classes, 24×7 connectivity, and WiFi coverage for multi-device support are some examples of the adoption of IoT in the education sector.

The Ministry of Education's (MOE) fourth masterplan for ICT (information and communications technology) in education focuses on utilising ICT to nurture and empower students to be future-ready and responsible digital learners. This includes integrating ICT into the national curriculum, providing quality online learning resources and incorporating ICT in student assessments.

A number of institutions, especially in the tertiary sector, have "bring your own device" as the norm for students to empower them to take their education to the next level.

The benefits of integrating ICT within the education sector are manifold. Advanced e-learning applications allow students to work at their own pace through a course, increasing both satisfaction and course completion rates. Teachers can provide one-to-one consultations and seamless student assessment.

Through cloud technology, instructors can collect data on student performance. Technology also opens up more opportunities for teachers to share and collaborate with one another.

Dynamic learning

IoT allows for better operational efficiencies in every type of learning environment.

Connected devices enable educators to perform dynamic classroom learning. Meaningful, in-depth and collaborative learning is also made possible as class materials are available online for students to prepare beforehand. With IoT, any type of education setting can be automated for easier access to information.

Singapore's Smart Nation vision is set to accelerate the evolution of the local education sector with local schools and institutions fully supporting this goal.

The Singapore University of Technology and Design will be introducing IoT to the curriculum for first-year students, where they can develop IoT devices in class.

The erstwhile Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and MOE introduced the code for fun enrichment programme under the Code@SG movement, where students can learn coding and computational skills and develop an interest in technology. There are 107 schools in the programme, an increase from the 24 that started out in 2014.

Educational institutions are investing in enterprise-grade networking and connectivity solutions to address the surge in data that is being created and needs to be stored, retrieved and shared securely. The data also needs to be stored for future monitoring and analysis to find ways to improve the e-learning ecosystem.

The increased adoption of connected devices by students and teachers will lead to storage constraint issues on their smartphones and e-mail accounts. This means institutions must plan to build robust data storage infrastructure in order to attain operational efficiencies.

The most essential elements to enable IoT in the education sector are efficient networks for data transmission, data storage and data analytics.

All of this requires innovative drive technologies, which increase reliability and performance, and deliver the highest possible capacities that educational institutions require. Installation of accurate storage product portfolios - including solid state drives, solid state hybrid drives, and hard disk drives - which are optimised for cloud computing and storage applications, as well as external products that are tailored for personal clouds, is important.

There are also concerns around security against external threats, which see many schools setting up monitoring systems on premise requiring well-organised video surveillance-based IoT infrastructure.

Gartner forecasts that IT spending in Singapore would reach US$22.2 billion by the end of this year, which is a 4.8 per cent increase from 2014.

With IoT fast becoming an integral part of our lives, IT spends are likely to see upward swings with contribution from the education sector. The days of the chalkboard and paper textbooks are becoming a thing of the past. Are we ready to help the next generation achieve their best potential with technology?