Keywords

1 Introduction

Modern sophisticated smart devices, smart systems, and smart technologies create unique and unprecedented opportunities for academic and training organizations in terms of new approaches to education, learning and teaching strategies, services to on-campus and remote/online students, set-ups of modern classrooms and labs. The performed research clearly shows that smart education market, in general, and market of software and hardware for smart classrooms and smart universities, in particular, will exponentially grow in upcoming years.

Smart Education Market in 2013-2017. “The global smart education and learning market is expected to reach $220.0 billion by 2017 at a CAGR of 20.3 % between 2012 and 2017, including (a) services segment with projected $97.9 billion by 2017 with a CAGR of 26.6 %, (b) content segment - $72.9 billion in 2017, at a CAGR of 12.1 %, (c) software segment - $37.2 billion, and (d) hardware - $12.1 billion in 2017. Companies such as Ellucian, Inc. (U.S.), Smart Technologies (U.S.), Blackboard Inc. (U.S.), Kaplan Inc. (U.S.)., Promethean World Plc (United Kingdom), Pearson PLC (United Kingdom), and Informa Plc (Switzerland) are among key players on the smart education market” [1].

Smart Classrooms’ Market in 2014-2018. “The global smart classroom market will grow at a CAGR of 31.25 % over the period 2013-2018. The two key factors contributing to this market growth are interactive display instruments and 3D education. Multiple global companies are among leaders in this area, including Apple, IBM, Microsoft, and SMART Technologies Inc.” [2].

Therefore, it is necessary to perform research and get clear understanding of what specific technologies, software, hardware, services, learning-related activities and strategies will be required by next generation of smart classrooms in the near future.

2 Generations of Smart Classrooms: Literature Review

The concept of smart classroom was introduced several years ago; it is in permanent evolution and improvement since that time. “Smart Classrooms represents a focus on re-orienting our school structures and business processes around individual students and their learning needs. It is a transformative strategy to transition from traditional ways of working to a digital way of working that is meaningful, engaging and connected” [3].

We may identify several generations of implementations of smart classroom concept and corresponding software/hardware solutions in academic institutions.

The first (2001-2007) generation of smart classrooms. The early smart classroom implementations were primarily focused on synchronous delivery of learning content to local (i.e. students in actual physical classroom with face-to-face learning/teaching mode) and remote/online (i.e. students, in remote locations with online mode of learning/teaching) as well as synchronous teacher-students and local student-to-remote student communications. Shie, Xie, Xu, et al. in [4] showed that “…in the Smart Classroom, teachers can use multiple natural modalities while interacting with remote students to achieve same effect as a teacher in a classroom with local students. … In this type of tele-education, multimedia education systems let teachers and students in different locations participate in the class synchronously”. Additionally, Xie, Shi, Xu et al. in [5] presented that “The Smart Classroom demonstrates an intelligent classroom for teachers involved in tele-education, in which teachers could have the same experiences as in a real classroom. … The magic of the Smart Classroom is the way teachers using the system - teachers are no longer tied up to the desktop computer, nor cumbersome keyboard and mouse”.

V. Uskov and A. Uskov in [6] described a synchronous teaching of local students and remote/online students using the Internet-2 technology with 2-way full-scale synchronous high definition video, high quality audio, real-time 2-way discussions between local and remote students, active participation of remote students (who were as far as 2,400 miles away from actual physical classroom) in classroom activities, their questions and feedback.

The second (2008 - current) generation of smart classrooms. The second generation of smart classroom implementations is mainly based on active use of mobile technology, user/student/learner mobile devices and automatic communications between then and smart classroom environment.

Yau et al. [7] proposed Smart Classroom solution based on Reconfigurable Context-Sensitive Middleware (RCSM), connected situation aware PDA (i.e. with awareness about location, light, noise, and mobility) for each student, pervasive computing technology and collaborative learning.

O’Driscoll et al. in [8] described their version of Context Aware Smart Classroom (CASC). “It is a classroom that responds to lecturers and student groups based on preset policies and the lecture timetable. The pervasive nature of personal mobile devices permits the investigation of developing low-cost location and identification systems that support development of a smart classroom. The smart classroom CASC uses a central scheduling system to determine the teaching activity”.

Huang et al. in [9] proposed “… a SMART model of smart classroom which characterized by showing, manageable, accessible, interactive and testing. … A smart classroom relates to the optimization of teaching content presentation, convenient access of learning resources, deeply interactivity of teaching and learning, contextual awareness and detection, classroom layout and management, etc.”.

Pishva and Nishantha in [10] define a smart classroom as an intelligent classroom for teachers involved in distant education that enables teachers to use a real classroom type teaching approach to teach distant students. “Smart classrooms integrate voice-recognition, computer-vision, and other technologies, collectively referred to as intelligent agents, to provide a tele-education experience similar to a traditional classroom experience” [10].

Glogoric, Uzelac and Krco [11] addressed the potential of using Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology to build a smart classroom. “Combining the IoT technology with social and behavioral analysis, an ordinary classroom can be transformed into a smart classroom that actively listens and analyzes voices, conversations, movements, behavior, etc., in order to reach a conclusion about the lecturers’ presentation and listeners’ satisfaction” [11].

Slotta, Tissenbaum and Lui described an infrastructure for smart classrooms called the Scalable Architecture for Interactive Learning (SAIL) that “employs learning analytic techniques to allow students’ physical interactions and spatial positioning within the room to play a strong role in scripting and orchestration” [12].

Koutraki, Efthymiou, and Grigoris developed a real-time, context-aware system, applied in a smart classroom domain, which aims to assist its users after recognizing any occurring activity. The developed system “…assists instructors and students in a smart classroom, in order to avoid spending time in such minor issues and stay focused on the teaching process” [13].

The Samsung Smart School solution has three core components: (1) the interactive management solution, (2) the learning management system, and (3) the student information system. Its multiple unique features and functions are targeted at smart school impact on education and benefits, including (1) increased interactivity, (2) personalized learning, (3) efficient classroom management, and (4) better student monitoring [14].

3 Research Project Goal and Objectives

The performed analysis of these and multiple additional publications and reports relevant to (1) smart classrooms, (2) smart technologies, (3) smart systems, (4) smart devices and meters, (5) smart universities, (6) smart environments, (7) smart cities, (8) ambient intelligence, (9) Internet-of-Things, and (10) smart educational systems undoubtedly shows that (a) smart classrooms, (b) smart labs, and (c) smart universities will be essential topics of multiple research, design and development projects in upcoming 5…10 years. It is expected that in near future smart classroom concept and hardware/software solutions will have a significant role and be actively deployed by leading academic intuitions – smart universities - in the world.

Based on our vision of smart classroom, smart university and up-to-date obtained research outcomes, we believe that the next generation of Smart Classroom systems should significantly emphasize not only software/hardware features but also “smart” features and functionality of smart systems (Table 1) [15, 16]. Therefore, next generation of smart classrooms should pay more attention to implementation of “smartness” maturity levels or “intelligence” levels, and abilities of various smart technologies.

Table 1 Classification of levels of “smartness” of a smart system [15, 16]
Full size table

The goals of performed research were to identify smart classroom’s components, features, interfaces, inputs, outputs, limits/constraints, and develop ontology of Smart Classroom systems. The premise it that such taxonomy will enable us to identify and predict most effective hardware, software, services, pedagogy, teaching/learning activities for the next generation of Smart Classroom systems.

4 Research Outcomes: Smart Classrooms’ Ontology

The proposed ontology of next generation Smart Classroom system is presented below in a tabular form. It is based on Systems Thinking approach that uses the following general descriptors: (1) goals, (2) components, (3) environment, (4) constraints/limits, (5) links (relations) between interrelated components, (6) interfaces between components and system-environment types of relations, (7) inputs, (8) outputs, and (9) boundary between Smart Classroom system and environment. Due to space limits of this paper, we present research outcomes for only the first four descriptors.

4.1 Goal and Objectives of the Next Generation Smart Classroom Systems

The main goal of next generation Smart Classroom systems is to demonstrate significant maturity at various “smartness” levels, including (1) adaptation, (2) sensing (awareness), (3) inferring (logical reasoning), (4) self-learning, (5) anticipation, and (6) self-organizations and restructuring (Table 1). The specific objectives of the next generation Smart Classroom systems are given in Table 2.

Table 2 Goals and objectives of the next generation Smart Classroom systems
Full size table

4.2 Components of Next Generation Smart Classroom Systems

Next generation Smart Classroom system’s components include but are not limited to (a) hardware components, devices or equipment, (b) software systems, applications, and emerging technologies, (c) various activities related to learning and teaching, and (d) types of learning or pedagogy to used. Table 3 below contains detailed information about main hardware components, Table 4 – software components, Table 5 – learning activities related to learning and teaching, and Table 6 – types of learning and/or pedagogy to be used in next generation Smart Classroom systems.

Table 3 Proposed hardware components of next generation Smart Classroom systems
Full size table
Table 4 Proposed software components of next generation Smart Classroom systems
Full size table
Table 5 Types of activities related to learning/teaching to be actively used in the next generation of Smart Classroom systems
Full size table
Table 6 Types of pedagogy to be used in the next generation of Smart Classroom systems
Full size table

Bradley University contracted the Crestron company (http://www.crestron.com) to set-up multimedia top-quality Web-lecturing and capturing equipment for several classrooms including smart boards, HD video cameras, projectors, document camera, computer systems and software for instructor, microphones, speakers, etc. – this is the first step towards Smart Classroom establishment. A total cost of a full set-up (equipment + installation) of one classroom of this type is about $40,000 (as of May 2015).

4.3 Environment and Constraints/Limits of the Next Generation Smart Classroom Systems

Various academic (schools, colleges, universities) and training (centers, businesses) organizations will primarily serve as the environment for the next generation Smart Classroom systems. Several examples of identified constraints for those organizations are presented in Table 7.

Table 7 Expected limits/constraints of the next generation Smart Classroom systems
Full size table

5 Conclusions. Future Steps

The performed research, identified evolution and development tendencies and obtained research findings and outcomes enabled us to make the following conclusions:

  1. (1)

    Smart education market and market of software and hardware for smart classrooms will exponentially grow in upcoming years.

  2. (2)

    Smart classrooms and smart universities will be essential topics of multiple research, design and development projects in upcoming 5…10 years.

  3. (3)

    Leading academic intuitions in the will deploy smart classroom concept and hardware/software solutions in the near future.

  4. (4)

    Next generation of Smart Classroom systems should pay more attention to implementation of “smartness” maturity levels and abilities of smart technologies.

  5. (5)

    The proposed and developed ontology of Smart Classroom systems (components, functions, interfaces, inputs, outputs, limits/constraints, etc.) enabled us to identify and predict hardware, software, services, teaching/learning activities for the next generation Smart Classroom systems (Tables 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).

Based on obtained research findings and outcomes, and developed ontology of the next generation Smart Classroom systems, the future steps in this research project are to (a) implement, test, validate, and analyze various identified learning strategies and pedagogies in smart classroom environment, (b) perform summative and formative evaluations of local and remote students and get sufficient data on quality of Smart Classroom main components - hardware, software, technologies, services, etc.), and (c) design and develop software systems for advanced Smart Classroom systems.