How IoT Affects eLearning Today And In The Future
Before we begin let us first understand what IoT actually is. According to Wikipedia, IoT or the Internet of Things is the extension of internet connectivity into physical devices and everyday objects. Embedded with electronics, internet connectivity, and other forms of hardware (such as sensors), these devices can communicate and interact with others over the internet, and can be remotely monitored and controlled. The IoT, thus, is everything that is connected to the internet, and in the modern world we live in, there are only a handful of electronics which are not part of the IoT. This gap too will be bridged in the coming years, as a study predicts that the number of devices which will be a part of the Internet of Things (connected to the IoT) by 2025 will reach around 75 billion in number. But how does IoT affect eLearning? Simple. eLearning uses technology, and that technology uses the IoT. Thus eLearning uses the IoT. Let us now learn how the IoT has affected eLearning, and how it will affect eLearning in the future.
1. IoT Has Brought eLearning To The Learner
What is a smartphone? It is a device which uses the internet. It is thus a part of the IoT. The smartphone has made it possible for education to be accessible in real-time, whenever learners need it, wherever they need it. It has made it possible for teachers to teach students sitting at home from the comfort of their homes. Mobile learning lets learners access eLearning courses with absolute freedom of time and place, and all of it is possible thanks to the IoT only.
2. It Has Transformed Content
As every person who is on the internet will have noticed, the content has become highly visual. Videos and images are preferred over text, even by the consumers, and videos are no longer just a simple recording of visual and audio components, but interactive pieces of content which engage the audience 40% more than simple videos. This is simply going to escalate in the future. This has also transformed eLearning content, which too, has become highly visual, as modern learners have become accustomed to seeing such content every day on the internet and can’t engage with anything less than that.
3. It Will Transform Tests And Examinations
The IoT will soon make it so that we have 24X7 access to the internet across a number of wearables, like sneakers, glasses/shades, pens and who knows what else? With such 24X7 access available to every student, teachers will have to resort to changing the learning format from “remembering and writing down things”, to “finding things on the internet and expanding on them”. eLearning assessments will have to change too, and eLearning professionals will most likely be the first educators to find new ways of learning in a world where IoT connected devices are commonplace.
4. It Will Make Life Easier And Convenient
With AI (Artificial Intelligence) only a few years far off from becoming commonplace, IoT along with AI will bring better home security, efficient energy use, and a faster streaming of content and data. It will also change the lifestyles, expectations, and habits the individuals of tomorrow form. Along with changes in lifestyle, there will be changes in learning, or rather eLearning. eLearning will be accessible on a larger number of devices, will get cheaper to develop, be more interactive and help attract more learners.
5. It Will Create Jobs
Just like ML (Machine Learning) and AI now both have dedicated courses and degrees for those who want to study them and build a career in them, IoT will soon have dedicated curriculum and majors for learners interested in it, and guess: what will the delivery mechanism be in the future? eLearning! The future will demand people skilled in IoT technology, and eLearning will give them the education they need in an affordable, accessible, quick and efficient way.
IoT is the future, and so is eLearning. They’ll both go hand in hand soon, and thus it is better to make preparations for the future, now. It’s incredible to imagine where the world will be after another 20 years of technological advancement, and it’s up to you to either be ready for it or lose out now and jump on the bandwagon later.
