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Clarisse and I had the chance to investigate the Internet of Things (IoT) and create a website resource for you this week. We organized our site into three main parts:
- Exploring what IoT is in the world
- Uncovering how IoT works in education
- Two concluding discussion activities.
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You can visit our site HERE. We hope that in traversing this resource you will gain a critical understanding of how IoT works in the world and in education, realizing that with its benefits and issues, IoT has an undeniable place in our present and future.
Please return to this post when you are finished to engage in the first discussion activity. You will see the description and links to our second discussion activity on our site to continue the conversation of IoT in other ETEC 523 WordPress posts.
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First discussion activity: After reviewing the site, please respond to one of the following questions in the comments below:
- What do you think would be an amazing IoT technology/relationship for the future? This could be for the world in general or for education specifically.
- In what ways is your place of work already using IoT? What may be concerning or encouraging?
- In your opinion, what is the pedagogical direction of IoT in education?
- To what extent should IoT infiltrate learning and teaching?
- Has your opinion of IoT integration in classrooms and schools changed at all? How so?
- What do you think is one issue or benefit of IoT within education?
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Thank you all for your hard work!
Kevin and Clarisse
Hey Kevin and Clarisse,
A little late to the party but definitely keen on sharing on my thoughts still just right before deadline…!
I found your website to be very easy to navigate and appreciate all the nuaced details in the work. I especially found the nuanced information about adaptive lighting to be insightful. Parents of my Grade 1 class five years ago had an active debate about this, questioning the average amount of lumens per square meter that existed in the classroom space and had voiced their concerns, which are very relevant to the findings you shared with Terzieva et al. (2022).
I do find that the use of Google classroom to have been one of the earlier pioneers, alongside with Apple classroom, to be the IoT and ecosystems that currently play that role to some capacity. I do see though, after doing some of the work on Quantified Self, this duality and split of academic knowledge versus health data. In terms of education, we do not house health data in a manner that may be conducive to optimizing productivity in the classroom, despite numerous studies related to tracking students sleep (Curico et. al. 2006; Hershner 2020), their eating habits (Reuter et. al. 2021), and their physical activity (Shephard 1997; Dwyer et. al., 2001). Unifying all these data sources and finally correlating/corrobrating them all takes such mammoth amount of computation power. It will be a long while away before we see something truly integrated in terms of data, and I do feel that education will gradually shift in that direction next in which health data becomes a contributing piece to academics.
References
Dwyer, T., Sallis, J. F., Blizzard, L., Lazarus, R., & Dean, K. (2001). Relation of academic performance to physical activity and fitness in children. Pediatric exercise science, 13(3), 225-237.
Curcio, G., Ferrara, M., & De Gennaro, L. (2006). Sleep loss, learning capacity and academic performance. Sleep medicine reviews, 10(5), 323-337.
Hershner, S. (2020). Sleep and academic performance: measuring the impact of sleep. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 33, 51-56.
Reuter, P. R., Forster, B. L., & Brister, S. R. (2021). The influence of eating habits on the academic performance of university students. Journal of American College Health, 69(8), 921-927.
Shephard, R. J. (1997). Curricular physical activity and academic performance. Pediatric exercise science, 9(2), 113-126.
Terzieva, V., Ilchev, S., & Todorova, K. (2022). The role of Internet of Things in smart education. IFAC PapersOnLine, 55(11), 108-113.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2022.11.017
Hello Alan,
Thanks for your detailed contribution. Reflecting upon IoT Smart devices and classrooms, many of these facets are quite separated not only by function but also companies. I also agree that we will move towards an integrated single system in which teachers can access, mitigate and change the learning environment as needed.
Hi Kevin and Clarisse,
Great work on the OER!
What do you think is one issue or benefit of IoT within education?
I think one of the major benefits of IoT in education is the enhancement of personalized learning. IoT devices can gather and analyze data on students’ learning habits, performance, and engagement in real-time. This enables educators to adapt their teaching methods and materials to meet individual students’ needs, identify their strengths and areas for improvement, and address learning gaps, resulting in a more customized and effective learning experience.
As highlighted in the OER one major issue with the integration of IoT in education is data privacy and security. The collection of vast amounts of data on students/staff raises concerns about how this information is stored, shared, and protected. There is a risk of sensitive data being accessed by unauthorized parties, leading to potential breaches of privacy. Implementing security effective measures and privacy policies is essential to help mitigate these risks.
In what ways is your place of work already using IoT? What may be concerning or encouraging?
Some examples I can think of from my workplace include security and access control systems used for compliance and safety in our offices. For example, we use automatic door locks and sensors that monitor and control access to facilities, as well as occupancy tracking and booking systems for meeting rooms and shared office spaces. An example of a concern which comes to mind and which is often raised by staff is the continuous monitoring of staff and visitors, which might be perceived as intrusive, leading to worries about constant surveillance and potential misuse of data. However, these systems are designed to not capture identifiable personal information, ensuring privacy/compliance. Nevertheless, information about employees’ workspace preferences and usage patterns is sensitive and must be protected. It’s also important to manage user perceptions and support their understanding by being as transparent as possible, providing access to information about what data is being tracked, how it is used, and how it is protected.
Hello Lynn,
Thank you for your post. This real-time advantage that smart classrooms have can really facilitate great learning. I run warm, I remember how intimidating it was to ask a teacher to open a window for some air but now thinking about it, it was more than comfort. It’s also performance and student social-emotional needs that need to be met. Such a simple concept of temperature and/or air quality can really effect a student’s self efficacy. Couldn’t agree more!
Thank you for your in-depth look at IoT. I have to admit IoT was foreign to me at the start of my MET journey. I think this is in part because the name “Internet of Things” strikes me as awkward. Wikipedia apparently agrees:” The Internet of Things has been considered a misnomer because devices do not need to be connected to the public Internet; they only need to be connected to a network and be individually addressable.”
To answer your question, what do you think is one issue or benefit of IoT within education?
I was really interested in the air quality solutions aspect of IoT. One of the First Nations schools in MB last year was the latest to experience poor air quality in their school. They had missed a total of 25 full school days (13%) of all instructional days (pentictonherald.ca/spare_news/article_1d06beab-fcce-58fa-8f98-3bc9b3e21986.html). A smart system would be a godsend in situations when the schools desperately need better facilities. However, I wonder how feasible it is to have the more complicated and specialized knowledge required for maintenance and repair. If the system goes down in remote locations, how quickly can a certified repair happen, and at what cost? Overall, How well-suited are smart systems to remote communities?
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_things#:~:text=The%20Internet%20of%20things%20encompasses,network%20and%20be%20individually%20addressable)
Hi Kevin and Clarisse,
Enjoyed reading through your OER on IoT! To be honest I haven’t thought much about IoT as a concept for a few years as it hasn’t been in the spotlight recently. In the past years however, so many more items in our lives have become ‘smart’ and connected to systems. Now it is a huge umbrella term and you did a great job covering a lot of subject area in your OER.
Please see my brief answers to your questions:
Q:What do you think would be an amazing IoT technology/relationship for the future? This could be for the world in general or for education specifically.
A:
a) I like the idea of students and staff having RFID smart cards. This could makes school buildings more secure in that administrators could be notified if someone without a tag enters the school. Also students could beep their card on the way in and out of class to save the teacher spending time on attendance, everything could be automatically uploaded/populated into a tracking system.
b) I like the idea of smart ‘textbooks’ that could link to an LMS, online resources, e readers, e quizzes, track progress and even connect with other classes around the world.
Q: In what ways is your place of work already using IoT? What may be concerning or encouraging?
A: I do have an RFID tag that connects to every building including all entrance/exits and smart copiers etc. This makes life really convenient! The one I like less is the remote control of thermostats, but it does make sense from a system wide efficiency prospective.
Q:To what extent should IoT infiltrate learning and teaching?
A: As much as possible that will enhance learning, useful data collection, safety and all other positive aspects without (as much as possible) violating personal privacy or creating too much dependence should there be a system failure.
Q: What do you think is one issue or benefit of IoT within education?
A: Before reading your OER I would have said one issue is cost of implementation. However, through reading about various examples it has made me think about what savings could be obtained by making data informed decisions regarding devices and facilities.
Great topic, a reminder that this area of technology continues to make interesting strides forward!
~Rich
Hello Rich,
Thanks for taking your time to add to our discussion and answering a few questions. I agree with your responses – there is an extent to which IoT should/could be allowed in environments that enhance safety, efficiency, and the overall experience of the user. On the same token, I also believed that IoT/smart functions were costly but post research, many tech companies make pricing competitive with adequate in price ranges.
Hello Clarisse and Kevin,
Thank you for covering this extensive topic! Your presentation alluded to so many futuristic possibilities in education that I needed more time to dig deeper into the various avenues you explored this week. I wanted to respond to your series of questions by posing a few issues that may challenge the future of smart classrooms.
While I had visions of Star Trek and the Jetsons amazing technology at various points going through your examples, and despite the vast potential the IoT presents in society and in education particularly, unfortunately I see the future of IoT technology in education to be a greater inlet to public surveillance and monitoring. This is particularly worrisome when concerning minors, students and other vulnerable individuals. While issues of privacy, security and safety are currently known and paramount, digital gatekeepers may not be able to keep ahead of the hyperconnected, unregulated smart world which is increasingly vulnerable to attack through weak entry points and where standardization and governance are lacking. If the Good and Great gatekeepers cannot keep up with malicious actors and hackers living online, the average user will not have the “intuitive computing experience” that Rugolo (2024) demonstrates in his fascinating lecture, thus further discouraging the integration of the IoT. For those who do pursue the IoT, it is training people to engage more with objects rather than content or people. What kinds of societal expectations will this create regarding how the world around us and life in general is supposed to respond our myriad requests? What traditional or new power structures is this replicating or disavowing? If further integrated into classrooms through Intelligent Education Systems (IES) and Smart classrooms, students and schools, quality management systems will be imperative to retain the integrity and value of knowledge as we move forward in this Digital Information Era, which currently does not exist. Despite these hurdles, the most important question is whether the IoT justifies the ecological challenges it creates and within which it has been devised. What kind of future will exist for such devices to be used?
Finally, thank you for including previous 523 student IoT posts on the blog – great idea!
References
TED. (2024, May 8). Welcome to the World of Audio Computers | Jason Rugolo | TED. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L61Kbo3y218.
Hello Kirsten,
Thank you for such a mindful response. When I completed and researched about smart students and classrooms, there were not that many negative/critiquing articles and blogs against IES an IoT devices in schools. Many of them were in fact focused on the positives and benefits. It could be that we just don’t have the research yet or that schools have not completely transformed to smart schools across the globe. We need data to classify these privacy/data concerns and the impacts of IoT on our world. We appreciate your inclusion and thoughts on ecological impacts of IoT.
Concensus algorithms must be monitoring this conversation! I just got sent this video : ttps://youtu.be/MJQIQJYxey4?si=9A4jmpW8CnCfiSdn
According to CNBC (2024) for example, 1 ChatGPT search takes 10 times the amount of energy of a Google search.
These facts need to be common societal knowledge and institutionally regulated accordingly.
Hello Kevin and Clarisse,
Thank you for hosting this week’s OER. I enjoyed interacting with the various components of IoT. Early in my teaching career, I was exposed to IoT devices, and getting them approved for classroom and school use was quite an ordeal. It was interesting to look back and see how things have changed since then.
When looking at your OER, I was reminded of the Boston Public Schools Indoor Air Quality Dashboard: http://bostonschoolsiaq.terrabase.com/ , Where you can see the air quality, temperature, and humidity. It is a neat database where people can see the air quality in the classroom, encouraging school districts to ensure air quality is safe in classrooms.
In answering the question, In what ways is your place of work already using IoT? What may be concerning or encouraging?
I see many potential applications when considering the use of IoT devices in education. From coding activities where students can program robots using Python to intelligent sensors, these technologies offer many opportunities for enhancing classroom learning. However, they also come with their own set of challenges.
One significant challenge is the potential lack of open-source platforms. For instance, if a company providing these devices in a closed environment were to cease operations, there could be challenges in supporting the devices. However, with careful planning and consideration, these risks can be mitigated. This proactive approach can help ensure the continuity of learning and the long-term usability of the devices. Furthermore, while the cost and implementation of these devices in the classroom can be daunting, a mobile lab that can be booked across school districts is a step in the right direction.
Security is another primary concern, especially regarding data storage on the cloud and how students interact with it. Ideally, servers would be hosted internally to enhance security, but this is not always practical. Additionally, many students lack a strong understanding of cybersecurity principles, which poses further challenges in integrating these technologies effectively into the curriculum.
Thank you for all your work,
Joel
Hello Joel,
Thank you for your detailed response. We wanted to make it clear and raise concerns for not just how students are unaware of cybersecurity principles but also families as well. We are in a digital age, where public education systems are reliant on cloud servers/storage/forms of enrolling into application subscriptions. But with that, all members of school communities should have more say and rights from IoT use concerns. These concerns seem to get more confusing and challenging as tech and smart devices at schools continue to change and adapt to the needs to the schools rather than the students.
Hi Kevin and Clarisse,
Thank you for the incredibly well designed OER! I enjoyed the noticeable considerations you made in the resource, such as including “what can we do” for the issues to ground the concepts into something actionable. Here’s a response to one of your questions:
What do you think would be an amazing IoT technology/relationship for the future? This could be for the world in general or for education specifically.
I wanted to amend this question ever so slightly to comment on the basis in which IoT is conceptualized instead of a specific technology. I really enjoyed the precision farming example you’ve used in the benefits section as it has identified a need in agricultural production, but I think it raised an important point about the purpose and versatility of how we integrate network connectivity to the tools we use. In the example of farming sensors, we see six tools where some of them perform one specific measure or one specific application. The question that is raised for me is, are they connecting these sensors to the internet to enhance what the tool is already meant to do, or are they connecting them because it expands the use of the tool? I certainly don’t claim to be an expert in farming and can understand the reasoning why there are specific uses for specific tools, but I do think that it highlights one of the key considerations.
The future of IoT should continue to explore the versatility of a tool and its capacity to serve a larger ecosystem rather than a narrow or siloed purpose. If we extend network connectivity to a tool I do think its worthwhile to ask this question. Does that enhance the tools specific function or does it create an opportunity for that tool to serve a larger ecosystem? I mention this because I view topics such as experience design and IoT as deeply intertwined. We certainly see this in some of the benefits listed in your OER, but I think this is how I bring it back to an education lens. It was mentioned in Olivia’s and Jazz’s posts that financial concerns are certainly top of mind. The fewer tools/devices that a school district/ post secondary/ organization need to purchase and maintain because they are multifaceted in what they can do is one of the major ways IoT in education could be viable in the future.
Hello Richard,
Thank you for your response, Experience and IoT is definitely intwined. You raise some good questions aboutIoT as a tool to serve a bigger ecosystem. Referring back to Kirsten, I think at this point companies are more focused on capital gain in data and monetary profit. From a bit of research in completion of this IoT topic, I feel that there is way more that we can do with IoT that can better serve the world and the education field. We just don’t have the inside information or the capability to demand for more sustainable IoT systems. But with the way that the world is running, IoT is determining a lot for us and is a lot around us.
Hi Kevin and Clarisse,
Fantastic OER, thank you! Over the years I have recently installed some smart home devices and in other courses, I have explored various bits and pieces (e.g. smart cities, smart classrooms), but I hadn’t conceptually understood all of these ‘things’ under the ‘Internet of Things’ phenomenon. Your OER was very detailed, yet not overwhelming.
In addition to the issues that you identified (security, privacy, compatibility, and legal issues), I wonder whether we should also highlight sustainability and environmental impact as an issue. As we replace our everyday ‘things’ with SMART ‘things’, what is the environmental impact? Does it result in us replacing our technology more frequently, thus increasing our resource consumption and carbon footprint? What is the typical lifespan and how much electricity is used to power an Interactive Whiteboard versus a ‘dumb’ whiteboard? How can we develop smart homes, schools, and cities while minimizing the environmental impact?
Hi Shannon,
Thank you very much! It was very hard to keep the site from being overwhelming, especially in highlighting all of the issues (there were many). We had to pick and choose which ones to keep in and chose to eliminate a few. You bring up an excellent issue: sustainability. It is an important topic in IoT that needs discussion. I am very happy you have brought it to the attention of the class.
IoT will not be successful without its challenges and faults, and energy consumption is a huge part of this. IoT technologies do not just turn on and off like other technologies do, they are constantly running, all of the time. Also, the point of IoT is to have many, many of these objects operating at once: not just a computer and tv, but a toaster, a fridge, a table, a window, a pillow, doors, fireplaces, and, ideally, everything else. This means a whole lot of computing power and energy running all the time. I am trying to find a comparable technology and the one that comes to mind is the energy consumption with AI because it seems to run (at times) with the frenzied magnitude that IoT will. As Mills (2020) illustrates, “Meanwhile in other corners of the digital universe, scientists furiously deploy algorithms to accelerate research. Yet, the pattern-learning phase for a single artificial intelligence application can consume more energy than 10,000 cars do in a day.” Now there is a lot to unpack in this statement, but my takeaway from it will simply be that technologies use energy and IoT, running all the time, will use lots.
Developers and users of IoT will need to have open discussions and create solutions about all issues. One of the solutions is in cloud computing. It seems that much less energy is used when many technologies access one database instead of keeping and using their own. Lohr (2020) states, “The big cloud data centers use tailored chips, high-density storage, so-called virtual-machine software, ultrafast networking and customized airflow systems — all to increase computing firepower with the least electricity.” A drastic and impressively low usage of energy resulted from this usage of cloud computing. So, IoT will have to find ways to be sustainable, just like this. Can you or anyone else think of any more potential solutions?
Thank you for raising such awesome questions and issues!
Kevin
Lohr, S. (2020, February 27). Cloud computing is not the energy hog that had been feared. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/technology/cloud-computing-energy-usage.html
Mills, M. (2020, April 25). Our love of the cloud is making a green energy future impossible. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/25/our-love-of-the-cloud-is-making-a-green-energy-future-impossible/
Thank you for the excellent learning opportunity you provided! I knew some of this, but you expanded enormously on my knowledge and adjusted my thinking on some items. This was well worth my time.
What do you think would be an amazing IoT technology/relationship for the future?
One area that quickly got me excited was your look at precision farming. Years ago I had the opportunity to visit a community in Kenya that was an orphanage, but was also a community seeking to lead the way to a better future for Africa. They were growing thousands of seedlings and distributing them throughout the continent, hoping that they could lead a charge to reshape the drought-stricken regions of the continent. They were seeking to be sustainable, growing their own food. I find myself imagining what the IofT can do to move such initiatives ahead, to provide the food our world needs, to make the most effective use of our resources. This is very hopeful and exciting! What if the IofT can increase the carrying capacity of our world to current and future population levels?! This is very cool.
To what extent should IoT infiltrate learning and teaching?
I find that I am one part cautious, and one part optimistic when it comes to the IofT in teaching and learning. On the one hand, for example, I expect my students (and my kids) to refrain from having an earbud in all the time and splitting their attention between the people they are interacting with and the devices connected to the bud. Relationships are more important, the ability to focus on a singular task or individual is important, and the separation of the virtual and physical world is good for our mental health. On the other hand, I’m so very excited about the seamless interaction of all the tools at my disposal to create an engaging and pedagogically beneficial experience for my students. I’m torn. I’m also very aware of some of the pitfalls you addressed in terms of security, privacy, etc. “Infiltrate” may indeed be an excellent word to use here. With an ever-expanding IofT, I fear that that intentionality goes by the wayside and an assumption that continuous connections between all facets of life is appropriate. I want my students to use particular tools at particular times for particular reasons rather than aimlessly experimenting with all the connected things. I know that time will tell, and our experiences will guide our future decisions in this area.
Thanks again! Excellent work!
Steve
Hi Steve,
What an amazing opportunity! Thank you for sharing. I think you highlighted a great area that IoT could be used: precision agriculture, especially in places of great need. I would like to build off your idea. In places of the world where water shortages are a great problem, IoT could be used to monitor the precise amount of water a plant would need in order to thrive, wasting very little. Yes, the cost up front would be heavy to install such devices so it would be problematic in and of itself, especially for developing nations; however, it is exciting to think about how, once installed, water could be used more sparingly and accurately to conserve fresh water and promote plant growth for communities in need.
You bring up an excellent point about IoT and engagement, especially when you mention “splitting attention” and I agree with your point about the need to interact with the real world and have real relationships; we need to monitor these and ensure they are meaningful, especially for young learners. IoT is very interesting in this respect, and kind of different from other technologies. With IoT, users do not actively disengage from the real world; for example, people do not hide away in a room to log on to a VR game for several hours. IoT moreso interacts with users as they navigate through real-life scenarios. It is much more a passive engagement which may not split attention or divert meaningful interactions quite as much. I imagine in a utopian kind of way, that IoT simply assists people as they navigate the real world; IoT takes care of all the backend and behind-the-scenes information, internet, and technology things, while people are free to roam the actual world more freely and, maybe, more meaningfully. because the interaction and attention given to these technologies are more passive than active. As Rose et al. (2015) mention, “If the projections and trends towards IoT become reality, it may force a shift in thinking about the implications and issues in a world where the most common interaction with the Internet comes from passive engagement with connected objects rather than active engagement with content,” (p. 1). So instead of splitting attention, we may not have to divert our attention at all. As you say, time will tell, but I will remain optimistic and excited!
Thank you!
Kevin
Rose, K., Eldridge, S., & Chapin, L. (2015). The internet of things: An overview. The Internet Society (ISOC), 80(15), 1-53. https://tinyurl.com/yfd3d5zx
Hi Kevin and Clarisse,
Wow, I really enjoyed experiencing your OER. It is very well organized and well thought out. I didn’t know much about the Internet of Things (IoT) before this, so thank you. One issue with the Internet of Things that I could foresee in education is the challenge of accessibility and equitable funding for SMART classrooms in public districts. The district and school where I work is public and barely has access to whiteboards as a form of technology never mind SMART classrooms. While IoT can significantly enhance learning experiences through smart devices and interconnected systems, the cost of implementing and maintaining these technologies can be prohibitive for many public schools. This disparity can widen the gap between well-funded and under-resourced schools, potentially exacerbating educational inequities. In your research, did you find any specific strategies or resources to ensure that IoT-based learning tools are inclusive and equitably accessible across different educational settings?
Thank you so much!
Olivia
Hi all, I just thought I would piggyback off of Olivia’s comment.
The smart classroom concept really interested me as I just completed an assignment about the displacement of SMART Boards and Interactive Whiteboards in classrooms. In Ontario, most classes were equipped with SMART Boards (https://www.smarttech.com/en/education/products/interactive-displays) starting in 2010. Since then, they were used a lot by so many teachers and loved by many. The issue is that when SMART started charging them for the software updates, it was too expensive to keep going. So, we have SMART Boards in our classrooms that don’t have the corresponding projector and are just used as really fancy regular whiteboards now. The cost to resupply all classrooms in the board with new Interactive Whiteboards would cost millions of dollars. There is the thought of putting them in some classrooms, but as Olivia indicated, that is a huge e
sorry that cut off…
it is a huge equity issue. Of course, we have access to OneNote (for one more year) and while it is great, I never really got into it as it caused me more issues than anything else. So I have started to use Interactive Presentations (as you noted in your website) to make presentations interactive for the whole class, not just the teacher and those special volunteers. This has worked great so far because students are able to use their own devices which cuts down the sustainability concern. And for those who are concerned about the equity issue of phones, there are computers available in the class for those who need one.
Additionally, when I was in Teacher’s College, I learned about adaptive lighting for students with exceptionalities and those with concussions. I think that is a great idea! I wish that we could get rid of the florescent lighting as a whole, but that’s not possible at this point in my school. I am lucky to teach in a portable because I use the windows, some lamps, and Christmas lights as my light source, but teachers who have no windows are not so lucky.
Finally, I am a bit worried about the classroom cameras, noise sensor, monitoring system, and RFID readers and tags. These are all huge breaches of privacy and I don’t know what I would do if these were implemented in my classroom/school. Do those things creep anyone else out? Or is it just me?
Jasmine
Hi Jazz and Olivia,
Thank you for your insights! You’ve raised some major concerns with IoT in the classroom. As it is a technological advance to help students it is unfortunately a great cost. In our research, most school districts only allocate funds to “Information Technologies” as a whole. From there it is up to administration to decide how they want to spend it, at a districtwide level or at a school level. For example, outfitting the entire district with a new licensed software (district wide) or buying a specific classroom(s) a new set of Chromebooks (decided by principal). In all, its a matter of funding and choice as to how money is spent. I imagine a first step to promoting equitable distribution of IoT in the classroom would be convincing educators and administrators that it is a viable and effective teaching tool; then, tackling a greater social justice issue of funding public education.
As for obsolete technologies, this is very discussed topic in IoT research and production for two reasons. One, it is a very scummy way for companies to generate revenue and unfortunately, many are greedy; even outside of IoT, companies purposefully slow down their devices or make new adapter/power cables until old technologies are rendered useless. Jazz, your story of SMART Boards requiring paid for updates is a perfect yet appalling example.
Two, it can actually be a big security issue. Rose et al. (2015) highlights the major issue: “With an extended service life expected for many IoT devices, should devices be designed for maintainability and upgradeability in the field to adapt to evolving security threats? New software and parameter settings could be installed in a fielded IoT device by a centralized security management system if each device had an integrated device management agent. But management systems add cost and complexity; could other approaches to upgrading device software be more compatible with widespread use of IoT devices?” (p. 25). With thewhole of IoT being ubiquitously connected, one infiltrated device could weaken the whole system or even other connected systems. It is extremely important for IoT to design technologies that can be updated effectively; this means making sure that IoT objects have the capacity to be updated, making sure they can be updated in the field, and making sure that it can be done in a cost effective way.
To put these two problems together, success in IoT comes down to shared responsibility. Setting aside greedy business practices and focusing on updating capabilities for safety, cost-effectiveness, and usability would make the system work better.
As for the privacy issues. I hope we highlighted them enough in our presentation. To revisit, it comes down to making informed decisions. Companies have an obligation to let consumers know what information they are seeking to gather and to let consumers choose which bits of information they are comfortable releasing. From there, hopefully, teachers in their independent classrooms, principals looking after the whole school, administration at the district level, and even government legislation will make the correct decisions on how this technology will be used. For example, a noise sensor that records voices, stores them in a database across the country, and sifts through the speech information to hear what kids are talking about so that they can sell the trending information to companies: THIS is problematic. However, hopefully an educator would be able to say no to all of that and ask for a noise sensor that only registers decibel levels, keeps information within the singular room, and stores nothing: THIS is much more private and comfortable.
Thank you for all of your awesome contributions!
Kevin
Rose, K., Eldridge, S., & Chapin, L. (2015). The internet of things: An overview. The Internet Society (ISOC), 80(15), 1-53. https://tinyurl.com/yfd3d5zx