Introduction
Digitally literate | Millennials are digitally literate |
Multitasking | Millennials are able to multitask rather than do a single task. They can move quickly from one task to another |
Prefer visual media over text | Millennials prefer visual media over text. They are relatively poor in text literacy |
Prefer internet search over library search | Millennials prefer internet search over library search |
Connected | Millennials stay connected. They crave connectivity |
Immediacy | Millennials require fast responses. They have a sense of immediacy |
Experiential | Millennials are experiential. Therefore, they prefer learning by doing rather than by being told what to do |
Social and team player | Millennials are social and often prefer to learn and work in teams |
Achievement-oriented | Millennials are very achievement-oriented |
Interactivity and engagement | Millennials require interactivity and engagement from learning environments. Otherwise, they lose focus |
Smart education
Country | Initiative/program name | References |
---|---|---|
Malaysia | Malaysian smart school implementation plan | Chan (2002) |
Singapore | Intelligent nation (iN2015) master plan | Hua (2012) |
South Korea | SMART education project | Kim et al. (2013) |
Finland | Systemic learning solutions (SysTech) | Kankaanranta and Mäkelä (2014) |
Arab Countries | ALECSO & ITU smart learning framework | Jemni and Khribi (2017) |
Australia | Smart student-centric education system | Zhu et al. (2016b) |
United Arab Emirates | Mohammed Bin Rashid smart learning program (MBRSLP) | Lavine and Croome (2018) |
Enabling information technologies for smart education
Information technology | Definition |
---|---|
Learning management systems | Learning management systems are software applications or systems designed to create, communicate, manage, and deliver education and training programs |
Smart classrooms | Smart classrooms are physical educational environments supported with information and communication technologies. Smart classrooms may utilize ambient intelligence technology |
Virtual classrooms | Virtual classrooms are educational environments in which educators and learners meet virtually |
Cloud computing technology | National Institute of Standards and Technology defines Cloud computing as on-demand access to a shared pool of computing resources. The technology enabling services on the cloud is called cloud computing technology |
Extended reality (XR) | Extended reality is the term referring to all real and virtual combined (immersive) environments in the spectrum including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) |
Virtual environments | A virtual environment is a computer-generated environment to replace the real environment with a virtual one |
Augmented reality | Augmented reality is the technology dealing with enhancing the user’s sense of the physical world with computer-generated sensory data in real-time |
Web 2.0+ | Web 2.0+ are technologies after Web 1.0. After Web 1.0, web technologies offer interactive, semantic, and intelligent web services |
Social networks | Social networking sites may be defined as the online platforms enabling social interactions between users having profiles |
Educational resources | Any type of learning and teaching material including educational presentations, e-books, interactive books, academic and corporate video tubes, etc. If these resources are open to the public then they are called open educational resources otherwise they are private to specific institutions |
Academic and corporate tubes | Academic or corporate tubes are online video-sharing platforms for education and training purposes |
E-books and interactive books | E-books and interactive books are digital books enhanced with user interaction ability |
Mobile technology | Mobile technology is the information and communication technology enabling portable mobile devices |
Serious games | Serious games are computer games used for instructional purposes |
Learning and academic analytics | Learning analytics is about the collection, measurement, and analysis of data about learning activities. Academic analytics utilizes business intelligence tools and strategies to guide educational decision-making |
Educational data mining | Educational data mining is to analyze data obtained from educational environments to understand patterns of learner behavior and to improve educational settings |
Educational robots | Educational robots are robots used for educational and training purposes |
Gesture-based computing | Gesture-based computing is the technology aimed at understanding human gestures |
Ambient intelligence | Ambient intelligence is an emerging paradigm that brings intelligence into our lives with the help of intelligent interfaces and smart environments |
Related work
Framework | Framework focus | Framework goal | References |
---|---|---|---|
Smart education framework | Essential elements of smart education and their attributes and roles in smart education | According to this framework, the essential elements are teaching presence, learner presence, and technological presence. The goal of the framework is to identify the roles and attributes of essential elements in a smart education environment | Zhu et al. (2016a) |
ALECSO & ITU smart learning framework | Combining smart learning program initiatives to form an international smart learning framework | The goal of the framework is to combine various smart learning program initiatives to form an international smart learning effort and system. Three key dimensions in this framework are open learning, mobile technology, and cloud computing. The program initiatives are ALECSO Apps Store, ALECSO Apps Editor, ALECSO Apps Award, ALECSO Apps training programs, ALECSO Cloud Computing Project, Open Book Initiative, ALECSO OER project, ALECSO Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) Project | Jemni and Khribi (2017) |
Smart education framework | Identifying the most suitable learning style via AI technology in a smart education environment | The goal of the framework is to develop a system that identifies the most suitable learning style via AI for a specific student interacting with a virtual instructor on the cloud | Bajaj and Sharma (2018) |
Smart education framework | Generic smart education design and categorization of information and communication technologies based on their role in smart education. The need for a coherent combination of new or improved learning and teaching methods with required ICTs | The goal of the framework is to categorize information and communication technologies based on their role in smart education while stressing the importance of a coherent combination of new or improved learning and teaching methods with required ICTs. The smart education framework in couple with smart education design methodology helps in designing suitable smart education systems | This study (2021) |
Smart education framework
New or improved learning/teaching approaches (core layer)
Essential/transforming technologies (second layer)
Enriching technologies (third layer)
Supporting technologies (fourth layer)
Smart education design
Smart education design example for teaching roman empire era in a history course
Determine education/training objectives
Determine the pedagogical approach
Analyze existing smart education system and technologies utilized
Identify required enriching and supporting technologies
Design smart education
Collect learning data
Evaluate design effectiveness
Evaluate course effectiveness
Smart education design example for teaching algebra
Validation of the framework
Literature search | |
---|---|
Search keyword | “Smart education” |
Search goal | To identify smart education systems |
Number of results | 353 |
Publication date range | 2003–2021 |
Type of publications | # Conference Papers = 208 |
# Journal Articles = 105 | |
# Book Chapter = 15 | |
# Others = 25 | |
Date of publications | \(2021 = 1\quad 2017 = 43\) |
\(2020 = 52\quad 2016 = 37\) | |
\(2019 = 80\quad 2015 = 25\) | |
\(2018 = 77\quad 2014\)–2003 = 37 | |
Predominant source | 2016—2020 international KES conference on smart education and e-learning |
Number of identified smart education systems | 12 smart education systems |
References | Implementation/prototype/architectural design/framework | System/architecture name | System implementation/prototype/architectural design/architectural framework description |
---|---|---|---|
Leonidis et al. (2010) | Architectural design | ClassMATE | The ClassMATE design builds upon the Ambient Intelligence (AmI) paradigm. Its major components are ClassMATE core and API library. The core incorporates five major components: Security service, User Profile, Device Manager, Data Space, and Context Manager. The API library provides the educational application library infrastructure. ClassMATE relies on a generic services interoperability platform, named FAMINE (FORTH’s AMI Network Environment). This platform provides the necessary intercommunication between services. The context manager and the data space components provide the necessary context-aware educational activity management and content provision. The ClassMATE core provides Learning Management System related functionalities among others. The design is based on the AmI classroom concept that is realized with a device manager service. Context Manager and Data Space provide learning analytics services and interactive educational content management. The FAMINE platform provides the necessary infrastructure for ubiquitous cloud services |
Obasa et al. (2011) | Architectural design | Integrated virtual classroom system | The proposed system architecture builds upon the notion of collaborative learning via incorporating asynchronous and synchronous learning platforms. The system architecture consists of four interrelated modules, namely, Application tiers, Application objects, Data Processing module, and Course module in a multi-tier network infrastructure. The application tier provides the network infrastructure. The application objects provide the software application infrastructure. The data processing module provides the data flow infrastructure. The course module provides the learning content-related management. The application functional modules include the user registration module, course registration module, assignment module, chat module, glossary module, Elluminate module, lessons module, wiki, and workshop module. The proposed system has learning management system functionalities, a networked virtual classroom environment, educational resources via application modules, interactive web services modules (such as a forum, wiki, etc.) using Web 2.0+ technologies |
Hirsch et al. (2012) | Design | Next generation learning environment (NGLE) | The goal of the Next Generation Learning Environment (NGLE) is to provide a learning platform that allows the integration of heterogeneous systems. The learning platform provides data management, student profile management, learning and academic analytics, the grouping of users for educational purposes. The design is envisioned to incorporate more services as they are available. The learning platform is envisioned to acquire content or services from Banner or Moodle. In addition, the platform integrates with various systems such as social network for learning (ELSE), collaborative learning environment (CLE), student grouping system to support collaborative learning, document classification for recommendation to support smart content provision, student care management (SCM) to support a number of learning analytics functionalities. With a focus on collaborative learning, NGLE provides learning management, social networking, and learning analytics functionalities |
Prototype and partial system implementation | Structured plug-in integrated teaching and learning (ITLA) system | The system consists of a Smart Content Service System and School and Home Learning System. The system is designed to provide services that enable smart learning, smart teaching, smart creating, and smart assessing. The Smart Content Service System is composed of tools and services that are connected to a content management system (CMS). It includes a smart contents creation tool, content auto-translation service, content auto-transfer tool. The smart school and home learning system include a learning management system connected with a smart learning tool, smart class, and personalized learning assistance tool. The smart learning tools in couple with other tools provide learning and academic analytics functionalities. The smart class is supported with smart devices, desktops, and smartboards. The CMS and LMS are supported with a contents repository system. As a whole, based on personalized learning, this smart education system offers LMS, a smart classroom environment, learning analytics functionalities, educational resources built upon mobile and cloud computing technology | |
Jeong et al. (2013) | Architectural design | Content oriented smart education system | The proposed system is a cloud-based system in which the educational resources content is stored on the cloud. The system utilizes an authoring tool for creating smart media content including texts, images, videos, 3D, AR, VR objects. Cloud-based smart media services, content viewer for displaying smart media content, inference engine for providing customized learning content, security system are applications that support the systems The content provider (instructor) creates educational content, and consumers (learners) consumes content that is stored on the cloud and accessible via devices including mobiles. The system supports both open and private educational content. The inference engine provides students with personalized content by analyzing preferences, learning styles, content usage, and interaction patterns. The platform for cloud-based educational smart media services with support from other tools provides LMS functionality, educational resources, and ubiquitous access via any device. The inference engine provides learning analytics functionality |
Hwang (2014) | Framework | Context-aware ubiquitous learning environment | The framework of a smart learning environment consists of the following modules: learning
status detecting, learning performance evaluation, adaptive learning task, adaptive learning content, personal learning support, databases for learner profiles, inference engine, and knowledge base. The system based on this framework is envisioned to work on a wireless communication network and to provide a user interface to students for smart learning. Mobile technology supported with a wireless network will enable ubiquitous access to users. This framework benefits from learning analytics functionalities via its modules. To realize this framework a learning management system will be required |
Ali et al. (2017) | Architectural design | IoTFLiP: IoT-based flipped learning platform | The proposed architecture is designed for flipped and case-based learning (CBL) for medical education. The platform architecture has business, application and service, presentation, and cloud security layers on the cloud. On the client-side, access technologies, local security, data aggregation and preprocessing, and data perception layers. The architecture proposes an interactive case-based flip learning tool (ICBFLT) that facilitates the learning activity between students and medical experts. The platform supports medical case data collection via IoT devices, data creation, case formulation, case evaluation, case feedback, and storage of medical knowledge. The business, application, and service layers in combination with the security layer provide various LMS functionalities. ICBFLT provides medical educational content with the help of a CBL Case Repository. IoT devices supported by mobile technology collect medical data for case creation |
El Janati et al. (2018) | Architectural design | Adaptive learning system based on dynamic adaptive hypermedia system | The proposed approach aims at providing adaptive educational content based on learners’ preferences and the disability of learners. The proposed approach utilizes a Dynamic Adaptive Hypermedia System (DAHS). The adaptive learning system (ALS) architecture includes a learner detector engine, learner model engine, transcoding engine, domain model, adaptation presentation engine. In this proposal, the system adapts the educational content for learners suffering from visual and auditory limitations. Various mechanisms such as text-to-speech, speech-to-text are used to adapt educational content to learners. The learner detector combined with the learner model provides learning analytics functions. The proposed architecture provides educational content (text, image, audio, and video) via adaptive web pages |
Bajaj and Sharma (2018) | Framework | Smart education with artificial intelligence based determination of learning styles | The goal of the framework is to develop a system that identifies the most suitable learning style via AI for a specific student interacting with a virtual instructor on the cloud. In this framework, the software tool utilizes artificial intelligence to analyze the students’ learning styles. Then the learning styles are used to generate personalized content and personalized learning paths. The interaction with the virtual teacher is enabled with cloud computing technology. The software tool provides LMS and learning analytics functionality |
Hartono et al. (2018) | Architectural design | Smart hybrid learning system | Smart Hybrid Learning System (SHLS) is based on Smart Hybrid Learning Method (SHLM) supporting flipped classrooms combined with Challenge Based Learning and Case-Based Learning. In SHLM, students learn in and out of class. In out-of-class learning, the students will have access to not only teachers but also industry and community partners. The educational resources are obtained from platforms providing MOOC that supports quizzes and tests. SHLS is envisioned to integrate with smart learning, social media, MOOC out-of-class technologies. Challenge-based learning system (CBLS) and case-based learning (CBL) system are in-class technologies integrated with SHLS. Furthermore, the SHLS supports interaction with industries, government, communities, and experts while creating a smart learning environment. The proposed system framework has 3 layers such as view layer, domain layer, data access layer. The view layer provides the user interface for SHLS. In the domain layer, there are smart learning system, smart conference layer, forum discussion layer, MOOC layer, Social Media Layer, CBLS layer, CBL system layer. The data access layer provides the database server acting as a content repository. The SHLS provides LMS, educational resource access, social media access, and advanced web functionalities |
Kim et al. (2018) | Architectural design | Emotionally aware AI smart classroom | The goal of the Emotionally Aware AI Smart Classroom is to create an educational environment in which the presenter is provided feedback on the emotional responses of audiences. Based on this feedback, the presenter will adapt their body language, voice intonation, and other non-verbal behavior to provide a more effective and emotionally intelligent presentation aiming for better learning. The system captures non-verbal cues including facial expressions, body movements, speech prosody, etc. Then these cues are analyzed via artificial intelligence technology Based on crowd scoring, the system analyzes listeners via AI technology. The machine intelligence component of the system sends data to the feedback decision component that provides feedback to the presenter via haptic glove or some other visual aid. The system is envisioned to work in a cloud environment as well. This system supports the notion of adaptive tutoring with help of academic analytics based on machine intelligence. Gesture-based computing in combination with ambient intelligent/smart classroom and related technologies are used to recognize and analyze the presenter’s verbal and non-verbal cues |
Lisitsyna et al. (2020) | Prototype | Basic online course—remote laboratory control protocol (RLCP)-compatible virtual laboratory technology | The goal of this approach is to increase the learning effectiveness utilizing blended learning technology with the use of a basic online course. Remote Laboratory Control Protocol (RLCP)-Compatible Virtual Laboratory Technology for a MOOC was modified and improved. The system is supported by virtual stands that allow students to solve practical exercises individually. After finishing the exercise, the student sends the results to the RLCP server to get evaluation results. Virtual laboratory uses special algorithms to construct efficient learning paths. The system provides basic LMS and learning analytics functionalities. Virtual stands and virtual laboratories are realized with web technologies |
References | Implementation/prototype/architectural design/framework | System/architecture name | Smart education framework layers | |||
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Education/learning/teaching method | Essential/transforming technologies | Enriching technologies | Supporting technologies | |||
Leonidis et al. (2010) | Architectural design | ClassMATE | Personalized/adaptive learning | Learning management system Ambient intelligent classroom | Academic and learning analytics Educational resources (interactive exercise content) | Cloud computing technology |
Obasa et al. (2011) | Architectural design | Integrated virtual classroom system | Collaborative learning | Learning management system Virtual classroom | Educational resources | Web 2.0+ |
Hirsch et al. (2012) | Design | Next generation learning environment | Collaborative learning | Learning management system | Academic and learning analytics | Social networks |
Prototype and partial system implementation | Structured plug-in integrated teaching and learning (ITLA) system | Personalized learning | Learning management system Smart classroom | Academic and learning analytics Educational resources (e-books) | Cloud computing technology Mobile technology | |
Jeong et al. (2013) | Architectural design | Content oriented smart education system | Individualized learning Interactive education Ubiquitous education | Learning management system | Educational resources (interactive books) Academic and learning analytics Extended reality (XR) | Cloud computing technology Mobile technology |
Hwang (2014) | Framework | Context-aware ubiquitous learning environment | Context-aware ubiquitous learning | Learning management system | Academic and learning analytics | Mobile technology |
Ali et al. (2017) | Architectural design | IoTFLiP: IoT-based flipped learning platform | Flipped learning Case-based learning | Learning management system | Educational resources (interactive exercise content) | Cloud computing technology Mobile technology |
El Janati et al. (2018) | Architectural design | Adaptive learning system based on dynamic adaptive hypermedia system | Personalized/adaptive learning | Learning management system | Academic and learning analytics Educational resources (e-books) | Web 2.0+ |
Bajaj and Sharma (2018) | Framework | Smart education with artificial intelligence based determination of learning styles | Personalized/adaptive learning | Learning management system | Academic and learning analytics | Cloud computing technology |
Hartono et al. (2018) | Architectural design | Smart hybrid learning system | Smart hybrid learning method (flipped classroom combined with challenge based learning and case-based learning) | Learning management system | Educational resources (academic tube, e-books) | Social networks Web 2.0+ |
Kim et al. (2018) | Architectural design | Emotionally aware AI smart classroom | Adaptive tutoring | Ambient intelligent classroom | Academic and learning analytics | Gesture-based computing Cloud computing technology |
Lisitsyna et al. (2020) | Prototype | Basic online course—remote laboratory control protocol (RLCP)-compatible virtual laboratory technology | Blended learning | Learning management system | Academic and learning analytics | Web 2.0+ |
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The smart education framework (SEF) has the capability to describe all the identified Smart Education Systems (SESs).
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The earliest SESs identified is reported in 2010. The latest one is reported in 2020.
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Most of the SESs are architectural designs at this point. Only a few SESs are partial or prototype implementations.
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All identified SESs are based on a learning/teaching approach. Personalized, Individualized, Adaptive, Interactive, Ubiquitous, Collaborative, Flipped, Blended, Case-based, and Challenge-based learning are among these approaches.
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Almost all identified SESs utilize a type of software providing various features of learning management systems.
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The identified SESs include at least one type of IT from each layer.
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Ambient intelligent classrooms, smart classrooms, virtual classrooms, interactive books, e-books, learning analytics, academic tubes, virtual reality, augmented reality, gesture-based computing, cloud computing, mobile devices, web 2.0, and social networks are information technologies used in SESs.
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Learning analytics, e-books, mobile devices, and cloud computing are commonly used in current SES proposals or implementations.
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We did not find examples of educational robot use, serious games, and educational data mining in the identified systems.