Smart Education in Smart Cities

A good infrastructure is necessary for any city. Without proper infrastructure, there can be no development or progress. Infrastructure is usually categorized as Hard and Soft. Hard infrastructure includes roads, bridges, railways, tunnels, sewers, telecommunications, electrical grids, and water supply. Whereas, soft infrastructure includes emergency services, law enforcement agencies, cultural standards, and educational programs. A smart city tends to revolutionize every aspect of its infrastructure by using technology. In this context, smart education is essential for the functioning of a smart city. The schools of the future will have a completely different educational environment. Here is how technology can help in transforming educational practices,

1. IoT and Smart Learning Environments

Smart learning environments are equipped with digital tools which create a more efficient, better, and smoother learning process. They help in creating an ideal synergy between the physical and digital worlds. This will allow a student to absorb information from their environment and create opportunities for seamless transitions between different learning approaches. These include group and individual learning, informal and formal settings, in digital and analog formats.

IoT can help in tracking whether homework was done properly, and data will be collected regarding how much time it took to complete the assignment. This data will help teachers in better understanding if their teaching methodology is working or not. Teachers will also be able to identify students who need additional help, and in which areas are they lacking.

2. AR & VR

AR and VR can help in opening a range of virtual possibilities. Students will be able to visit geographical locations which will be hard or impossible to reach physically (such as Mount Everest). Students will also be able to witness natural disasters and historical events. This will allow them to have a deep understanding of concepts. Visual learning keeps students engaged and makes them feel excited about their studies.

3. Personalization

Every student is different, and the best of their abilities can be brought out by using specialized approaches. The efficiency of information retention is increased by the use of personalization. On the other hand, the lack of personalization can make it almost impossible to teach certain students.

For instance, students with dyslexia are equal to their peers in terms of cognitive abilities, but conventional learning methods aren’t suitable for them. Asking them to write essays and trying to teach them via textbooks leads to confusion and frustration. It is bound to result in failure. Smart education tools like speech-to-text applications can enable them to complete their written assignments by using their voices. Hence, their results won’t be dependent on their reading and writing abilities.

4. Big Data

Big Data may finally put an end to the maligned standardized testing. Data collected during classwork and routine tasks will be processed with the help of AI tools. This will offer a greater insight into the abilities and skills of each student. This alone is enough to restructure the education sector completely.

A smart city is not just about physical connectivity; it is also associated with intellectual connectivity which can only be cultivated through smart education and digital learning tools.