An Internet of Things-Based E-Learning Implementation to Support Collaborative Learning in Science Subject

Abstract

The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiative in Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 aims to develop students with the necessary skills that could face the challenges of science and technology and to ensure Malaysia produces enough qualifed graduates in STEM. Nonetheless, the number of students taking STEM subjects has been declining over the years. Many studies have investigated factors that lead to the decline. One of the factors is attributed to students’ experience in class which the students perceive that STEM subjects are boring and dull. This study attempts to propose the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) as a teaching aid for science subjects to make the learning of science more interesting. This paper presents the design of Quickscience, a science e-learning system that leverages the use of IoT devices as a teaching aid. The IoT device captures time, distance, velocity, and acceleration data and stores the data on a database that resides in the cloud. This architecture supports collaborative learning as the data can be used by other students from diferent schools. The methodology of this study consists of three phases. The functional requirements of Quickscience were developed in Phase 1. Phase 2 is about designing, developing and testing the IoT device and the web-based e-learning system. Phase 3 is about evaluating the system in terms of usability and acceptance. The results include the analysis and design models and evaluation of Quickscience as a teaching aid. The fndings indicate that teachers are open to the idea of using IoT platforms such as Quickscience as a teaching tool because they feel that it will enhance students’ interest in learning science.