IoT In the Education Industry: Embracing the New Way of Learning

Since the pandemic, technology-enabled devices can be found everywhere and are fundamentally altering how we live and work. Everything from online food ordering to dishwashers is becoming a connected device. According to Statista, the installed base of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is expected to reach almost 31 billion globally. Moreover, the IoT has revolutionized numerous facets of business, and the education industry is no exception.

The traditional education system was limited to classrooms, conferences, and online tutorials. With the development of IoT solutions, this system is slowly and steadily improving. Educators are adopting these new technologies to help students reach their full potential. However, educational institutions must do more than adapt to new advances for the industry to better serve students and teachers. They must also implement IoT solutions appropriately across all organizational levels.

IoT in the education market was valued at $5.3 billion in 2019. This value is expected to grow to $19.5 billion by 2027, with a 17.7% CAGR from 2020 to 2027. As the market evolves, so do stakeholder needs in the education industry. IoT is helping students receive a more individualized learning experience and lays the groundwork for a more efficient, secure, and innovative manner of learning. Let’s explore how IoT can benefit your educational institution.

What is IoT and why is it important in education?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of physical objects embedded with software and sensors that use the internet to communicate and exchange data with other systems. IoT is revolutionizing the way businesses operate through sensors that can monitor motion, light, temperature, moisture, air quality, and more. These sensors enable businesses to anticipate potential needs before they arise, ultimately saving time and money. With IoT, companies can gain real-time access to critical information from any location.

The Internet of Things has the potential to make life easier for all stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, parents, and students. With the same effort, resources can be utilized to produce better results. As these solutions demonstrate, IoT application cases encompass nearly every aspect of the education industry:

• Manage applications to reduce costs and increase viability.
• Enable classroom management to enhance learning.
• Enhance stakeholder connections to make academics more engaging.

The emergence and implementation of IoT in the education industry has fundamentally altered the learning process. Technology reduces idle time while increasing operational effectiveness and productivity.

IoT connects many devices to the internet, enabling data sharing and processing rather conveniently. A single touch transmits information at high speed without needing human intervention. As a result, IoT in the education sector helps prepare an automated learning environment.

How can IoT benefit the education Industry?

COVID has put the world’s education systems through a test by fire. Schools across the globe scrambled to deploy various technologies to continue learning, as in-person instruction was no longer an option; some schools were able to adapt to this change more successfully than others. The already existing challenges such as antiquated educational models, teacher shortages, and operational inefficiencies became more visible with the global pandemic.

While educating students is still of utmost importance, the current education landscape expects much more from its instructors. Teachers are already expected to be guidance counselors, social workers, and parental models to their students. Now, they are increasingly being called upon to be protectors of students, too— which is nearly impossible to do with burnout among teachers increasing and many deciding to leave the profession.

The use of IoT in education is improving how schools educate and take care of their students and staff. Here are a few of the most noteworthy advantages of the Internet of Things listed below.

Ensure the safety of teachers and Students

A primary concern in education is the rise of violence in educational institutions. 2022 has been labeled the worst year for school shootings, with 257 recorded shootings on school campuses as of late October – exceeding the 250 total for 2021. The surge of school shootings and violent attacks is only expected to worsen in 2023. 

Violence in schools has far-reaching impacts on the educational system as a whole and can cause physical and psychological harm to faculty and students. For instance, students' antidepressant prescriptions climbed by 21.4% in 44 Texas school districts that witnessed a fatal shooting between 2006 and 2015. Additionally, school shootings immediately affected attendance and grades, increasing a student's risk of being chronically absent by 27.8% and reducing knowledge retention by 124.5%.

The violence that happens in classrooms has an impact on more than just students. 22% of school staff members — such as paraprofessionals, counselors, instructional aides, and resource officers — reported that they had experienced physical acts of violence in the school setting during 2022, and the problem is worsening.

According to a February Gallup poll, K–12 instructors were the most burned-out portion of the US labor force. With staff shortages and unqualified workers stepping in, not to mention the enormous dread and fear that students endure, relying solely on teachers and students to respond effectively in the case of an emergency is unsettling. Humans are frequently the weakest link when it comes to security. In times of disaster, it is natural for humans to panic and lose sight of security standards, regardless of their level of preparedness. As a result, training and equipment become less effective or even useless.

By implementing Telesystem’s IoT-enabled devices, these systems monitor, identify, and evaluate issues in real-time. On campuses not equipped with IoT-connected solutions, school administrators may not be aware of a crisis until it is too late to intervene. By the time, the correct individuals have been made aware of a problem and initiate a lockdown, alerting law enforcement, notifying parents, and analyzing the situation becomes more concerned with damage control than prevention.

For schools with IoT sensors, these scenarios take on a very different form. IoT sensors allow educators and students to request assistance at specific locations by sending discreet panic alerts to the security team through buttons that can be placed on walls, under desks, or on lanyards. Improving emergency response times prevents staff and student injuries, creating a safer school environment. By removing the human element from security procedures, automation improves safety and reduces failure in the chain of command.

These new advanced technologies may help prevent catastrophes. If an emergency occurs, these technologies can help reduce harm as precious seconds can mean anything from defusing a stressful situation to saving lives. Telesystem’s IoT panic button is required for student and staff safety as well as the organization's long-term success. Knowing they are secure; students and teachers may embrace their work and feel comfortable in their educational institutions.

IoT- based management system

Managing an educational institution is not an easy task. It entails ensuring the physical and emotional wellbeing of students, providing an effective and safe learning environment, keeping track of supply management, lots of planning and paperwork, and funds allocation or redistribution. These tasks – due to tight budgets and tight schedules – can be quite challenging.

Schools nationwide faced tremendous budget cuts in 2022. New York City schools had $215 million budget cutsacross all institutions, representing a policy reversal over the past two years. This covered schools financially for enrolling fewer students than expected halfway through the year during the pandemic.

Teachers are feeling the brunt of educational budget cuts. In a field where about 20% of teachers leave their profession in the first three years, budget cuts mean even less incentive for educators to continue teaching. A high school history teacher, Nicolle Fefferman, was one of many teachers who decided to leave the profession due to the lack of resources at her school, requiring her to spend her own time and money to purchase supplies for her classes.

Classroom aides are one example of a resource shortage in the classroom. Classroom aides are more likely than general education teachers to abandon the field, and with budget cuts influencing the teacher shortage, classroom sizes have also been affected. Due to a teacher shortage, classrooms grew in size. Inevitably, overcrowding leads to an increase in disruptions. Further, it is much easier for students to fall through the cracks in larger classrooms and not get the extra help they need and deserve to succeed. Another casualty of large classes is that teachers cannot incorporate as much cooperative learning, as it can be difficult to manage large groups of students.

To tackle the effects of budget cuts and teacher shortages, Telesystem's internet of things (IoT) helps reduce the schools' operating costs, enhance the student experience, and make educators' lives much more manageable. Our IoT devices can manage resources, such as monitoring power and water consumption. For example, IoT sensors can be installed in lighting and water faucets, and sensors in empty rooms can turn off lights and faucets to save energy and water. Therefore, implementing such devices can save schools significant money.

Many educational institutions and staff are unaware of how much money can be saved using IoT devices. Everything from the coffee maker in the teacher's lounge to industrial-sized printers could cause unnoticed energy drains that, when compounded, contribute considerably to a school's energy expenditure. 

With Telesystem’s IoT sensors, schools can monitor their resource consumption, control the sensors by hand, or allow the sensors to do their thing and turn everything on and off when approached or left by active employees. This means no more lights on over the weekend, wasted heating or cooling when nobody is in the building, and well-meaning but inconvenient timer systems. The money saved from deploying IoT sensors would alleviate financial stress and provide access to funds that can be allocated to various school resources, ultimately improving the educational experience for students and faculty.

Telesystem is here for your Educational Institution

Since the pandemic, the education sector has faced devastating experiences. With an increase in school shootings every year, instructors leaving the field due to workplace violence, and budget constraints affecting how efficiently they can get their job done, it's no surprise that teachers, students, and parents are all feeling the heavy consequences of the pandemic.

It has never been more important for the education sector to adopt IoT sensors from Telesystem. Our IoT capabilities, such as asset management, predictive maintenance, and emergency response, ease the stress and responsibilities of both students and teachers, allowing educators to focus on what is most important: teaching the next generation of leaders.