USING INTERNET OF THINGS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING IN STUDENTS’ MULTIDISCIPLINARY IT PROJECTS

Multidisciplinary combination of two or more separate fields of knowledge may lead to creation of innovative solutions. In the curriculum of studies multidisciplinarity is usually typical of project courses within which students either individually or in teams develop their own projects or projects that have been assigned by the person conducting the course.

In recent years the Internet of Things (IoT) has become a popular and fast-growing technology whose large educational and innovative potential has been noticed. However, the level of mastery of the technology expected of students requires knowledge of many issues from different fields of life and science. Learning and getting to know the technology may be considerably facilitated since the process takes place when people are active and learn through participation in “the act of creation” (Seymour Papert’s constructionism learning theory) – project-based learning.

Easy access, a relatively low price and a variety of existing solutions, sub-assemblies and sensors creating limitless possibilities in the creative realization of ideas are major advantages fostering the use of the technology in education.

IoT has been at the stage of fast growth and therefore it is difficult to precisely predict its directions of development as well as its future applications. One of areas in which IoT is likely to demonstrate a large development potential in the future is ecoeconomy including waste management, environmental monitoring, mobile management of environmental resources, threat monitoring, etc.

The paper presents the educational potential of using IoT in environmental monitoring and demonstrates examples of students’ projects combining separate fields of science such as computer science, electronics and environmental engineering.