Towards the Prominent Use of Internet of Things (IoT) in Universities

Abstract

The emergence of IoT has recently been accelerated by innovations implemented in the areas of on-board equipment and low-power networks, embedded systems software and IT on the periphery of edge computing. With IoT, small devices equipped with sensors are put on networked using low-power radios and there is the integration of different protocols stack for a multi-purpose network (6LoWPAN), leveraging an almost infinite pool of unique network addresses using IPv6. Recent development of IoT technologies has drawn up the attention of Universities to integrate the concept of IoT in all their service areas including learning. They are prepared to invest massively on IoT in their data centres with the objectives of providing a totally new and modern concept in terms of teaching & learning, research and service to the community. The purpose of this study is to make an assessment of the level of knowledge students possess in terms of IoT technologies and whether IoT systems have an influence on students’ learning. The study targeted students in the IT fields due to the fact that they are more exposed to the IoT infrastructure. The findings reveal that IT students have IoT knowledge which needs to be enhanced in terms of further use of big data technologies and data analytics skills. The outcome as regards to the integration of IoT systems in learning is found to be very convincing for Universities.