“Internet of Everything” creates huge opportunities for higher education 
The "Internet of Everything" has great potential for students, teachers and administrators, improving experiences and outcomes across a variety of disciplines. Electronic textbooks, for example, can be monitored and tracked, and based on usage data, selected chapters rather than the whole books can be purchased. Teachers can monitor in real-time student engagement, performance, retention and outcomes; administrators can view the entire campus operation of networks, improving safety and security. However, costs, implementation and cyber-security will be ongoing challenges.

Dive Brief:

Campus Technology explores the possibilities for higher education within the "Internet of Everything," the emerging culture of online connectivity in devices and raw materials, which can create opportunities for analytics and teaching opportunities.

According to Robbie K. Melton, associate vice chancellor for mobile and emerging technologies at the Tennessee Board of Regents, students will expect institutions to make use of environment-technology pairing to enhance the learning and living experience, and to gain real-time insight into student engagement and academic interest.

Melton also cites the ability to purchase specific chapters of textbooks, which dramatically cuts spending for students, as an example of the growing technology.

Dive Insight:

Connectivity will soon grown as an expectation for college settings. But for administrators, the question of who pays for it, how is it implemented and how to protect it from increased hacking vulnerability becomes the prevalent question.

While there may be challenges in determining how the technology would be evenly applied to a variety of disciplines, laboratory equipment, facility access, dining and athletic experiences can be dramatically altered with networking and Internet enhancement opportunities. Additionally, competitive or gamification options can offer more to academic experiences and create more value for tuition cost.