How Smart Beacons Are Benefitting the Education Sector

By Pradip Shitole

Bluetooth beacons have a lot to offer school campuses through education IT solutions and eLearning.

The education system undoubtedly is becoming more computerized. Every day, new tools are developed for making both learning and teaching easier and enjoyable, and the usage of Bluetooth beacons in education makes teaching easier and more enjoyable. The vast majority are computer-based.

The education industry has been disrupted by beacon technology mixed with tablets and smartphones. Many university campuses have a plethora of chances to revolutionize the manner in which the education system in its entirety functions by merging mobile phones with beacon technology. Beacon app creation gives school campuses, eLearning solutions and students the best of both worlds.

How Beacons Work

Beacons are wireless gadgets that use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity to convey signals to gadgets in close proximity. With advances in technology, the range of beacons has also advanced. Today, beacons are available with a range of more than 200 meters (656 feet). They are strategically located to provide users with customized location-based content via mobile devices. Beacon applications for the education sector can greatly improve the campus and classroom environments, among other things.

Why Beacon Technology Is Applicable in Education

It all comes down to experience and circumstance. Using technology within the classroom has been a logical progression in response to our children' expanding demands and requirements, but it has also resulted in a gap between pupils and their actual surroundings. Beacons provide a method for bringing real-world engagement and contextual experience back into our students' daily classroom experience.

The power of beacons stems not just from the beacon itself, but also from the application with which it is linked. Indeed, there are almost no limitations to what can be accomplished.

Seven Ways Beacons Are Changing the Field of Education

Pradip ShitoleGood Student-Teacher Bonding: Faculty members can use a beacon education app to transmit worksheets, timetables and other electronic information to students' devices. The proper interface would allow for more fluid communication between students and professors, resulting in a more successful learning style model. Furthermore, teachers can create a more dynamic workshop or learning environment by strategically placing beacons throughout a classroom or laboratory. Such learning zones expand the possibilities for challenging puzzles or interesting team-building activities.

Safe Private Transport Scheduling: Bus services for students and staff may be offered on campus. During peak hours, there may be private cars commuting. Beacons can assist by supplying real-time data on traffic severity and vehicle traffic. This can assist administrators in managing pickup and drop-off locations effectively, and in guiding commuters to alternative places if necessary. It could even alert pedestrians to impending cars on the roads. It might send notifications to mobile devices near beacons, warning them of risky crossroads ahead or fast oncoming traffic.

Interactive Communication: The days of students finding lectures dull are long gone. Colleges and institutions around the world are increasingly focusing on interactive learning, which requires good and interactive communication between students and teachers. Beacons can significantly improve your pupils' learning experience. Teachers can now simply provide particular classroom resources—such as notes, assignment schedules and deadlines—to their students.

Better Security: Colleges invest surplus money to make their campuses safe and secure. Many infrastructures are needed, with significant expenditure. Schools and universities can now strengthen their security without spending a lot of money by employing beacon technology. They can simply enable students and faculty to access the campus via a mobile app.

Explore Library: Beacons can provide a precise image of a library, allowing students to readily locate their searched book and be notified of additional information pertinent to their research themes. It can also give members notifications when they go inside the library. Such notifications may contain the accessibility of requested books, overdue books, books due for renewal and any other pertinent information.

Attendance: Beacons enable schools to take attendance automatically, and they also allow students to check in at activities automatically.

Increased Convenience for Physically Challenged Staff or Students: Beacons are especially useful for students and employees who are physically challenged, since they provide a secure and safe way for them to walk throughout the campus, leading them well through the various paths. Finding venues is also made easier, thereby confirming their well-being in a comfortable way.

The education realm is benefiting from the benefits that beacons provide, and it appears that there will be much more in the future as technology advances at a quick pace. Beacons, despite their small size, have a lot to offer school campuses through education IT solutions and eLearning.

Pradip Shitole currently works as a team lead at market consultancy firm Market Research Future. An electronics and telecom engineer by education, he has prior experience in technology firms and market research.