Educating the Internet-of-Things Generation

Abstract

As highlighted by the articles in this special issue, the concept of the Internet of Things is becoming increasingly important and understanding both the technical underpinning and wider societal impacts of the Internet of Things (IoT) will be crucial for digital citizens of the future. Building on extensive experience in delivering large--scale distance learning, The Open University has redesigned its introductory computer science curriculum to place the Internet of Things at the centre of students' experience, in a course called My Digital Life. In this article we present the design of this module, including a learning infrastructure that allows complete novices to experiment with, and learn about, Internet of Things technologies. We also share our experience of having almost 2000 students participate in the first presentation of the course, engaging in a range of activities that include collaborative and collective programming of real--world sensing applications.

Digitalization and Regional Competitiveness: A Brief Summary

“…This is because automatization and robotization are becoming more common in numerous industries, hence there is also a social shift present (Leonhard 2016, WEF 2016, Kampylis -PunieDevine 2015, Kortuem et al 2013, Chris -Binhui 2011, Lai 2011. The core idea that Toffler (1990) presented is crucial: we need to be able to learn, unlearn and relearn in a fast-paced environment.…”

“…They need to become institutions that promote innovative thinking, efficient communication among students and teachers via an interactive, inclusive environment by also capitalizing on the opportunities presented by technology (WEF 2017, French -Shim 2016, Gros -López 2016, WEF 2016, Kortuem et al 2013, Chris -Binhui 2011, Zuti 2018c.…”

Fast Prototyping of the Internet of Things solutions with IBM Bluemix

“…The fast-changing market makes time of development the most valuable resource than any others. That means besides other things that the IoT education should be of more interest in academic world [4]. We also believe that universities can play an even more important role in the new technological environment by addressing new issues which all parties involved in IoT projects are facing, by testing new frameworks in student teams projects, hackathons, etc.…”

Educational Use of Cloud Computing and at-Mega Microcontroller - A Case Study of an Alarm System

“…In particular, the ever-increasing prominence of Internet of Things whose notion is firmly based on close collaboration of Internet services and electronic devices creates a good reason for preparing such classes [6]. There are many fields where Cloud Computing model has been successfully substituting classic IT solution based on local infrastructure.…”