Recommended Readings on Internet of Schools

The Trends and Challenges Shaping Technology Adoption In Schools

By Katrina Schwartz September 16, 2016

https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/09/16/the-trends-and-challenges-shaping-technology-adoption-in-schools/

The Connections Between Computer Use and Learning Outcomes in Students

By Anya Kamenetz, NPR August 11, 2016

https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/08/11/the-connections-between-computer-use-and-learning-outcomes-in-students/

Readings on sensors, smart cars and smart homes...

6 Affordable Vehicles with Collision Warning Systems


The Game Has Been Escalated': Pentagon Eyes Space Sensors for Missile Defense Read more: https://sputniknews.com/military/20160902/1044871551/pentagon-space-sensors.html


8 vehicles earn top rating for collision warning


Even the bad guys will stare

Securing the Internet of Things from terrorism

Terrorists use the internet on a 4 R frame - to relate to, recruit, retain, and refer their clandestine network. They use the net to build bonds and networks, and to maintain dangerous relationships. Given a common mission (to disrupt if not destroy the State), they meet and tie together in virtual space platform.  

How do the terrorists use the internet?

• Selling a radical ideology - the web as a medium to propagate.
• Eavesdrop to  enable recruiting followers with an extreme bend of mind.
• Virtually communicate in forms which are accessible to password restricted followers but inaccessible to authorities.
• Deepening relationships through instilling fear within and without and creating the obsession of goal achievement.
• Building protected cyber-forums.
• Instilling hatred for the system.
• Provoking the mind of the potential recruit (may be through a photo, a story, a harping on a series of stories.  call to action).
• Exaltation of terrorism to obsessive levels in the psyche of the potential terrorist.
• ‘Fundamentalizing’ thought from a level of acceptance of the neighbour to a level of abhorrence. 
• Arranging stealth finance. Payment systems are used: funds are moved through electronic wire transfers, credit card or alternate payment facilities.
• Using avenues like crowd funding, e-commerce to solicit funds for the illegal activities.  

  

Criminal activity in finance would include

• identity theft,
• access to account database,
• credit card theft,
• wire fraud,
• stock fraud,
• intellectual property crimes,
• auction fraud, 
• e-gold online payment accounts  
• using commodity markets

Case 1: Younis Tsouli  (2005) built websites and ran web forums for terrorists. He was a distributor of video material for terrorists. He hijacked web sites; ran password-protected forums with large number of members which were used for military instructions. Laundered money was used to fund the registration of nearly 180 websites as also to equip terrorists across several countries. Approximately 1,400 credit cards generated approximately £1.6 million of crime driven money.

Case 2: Tariq Al-Daour (2006)  had 37,000 credit card details on his computer drives. These were obtained through phishing attacks or purchased in on-line forums where stolen information circulates. Gullible people were led to believe that they were verifying their accounts were unwittingly helping the group fund their terrorist activities.

As terrorists connect through cyberspace, IoT raises security issues as never before. Given that the devices are all inter-connected, theft at any one point could have a contagion effect with the criminal having recourse to a huge set of data. Ranging from electronic key to mobiles to identity theft, there are multiple avenues but also immense potential for harm. IoT would enable availability of movements and preferences of consumers,Criminal hackers could track these through a host of inter-connected devices. The security threat implicit in multiple connected devices has to be instilled in the consumer mind-set. In the absence of any IoT regulator, self regulatory standards by independent vendor are essential.

References:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7191248.stm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/25/AR2006032500020_2.html

http://www.in.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/The-Internet-of-Things-an-identity-theft-goldmine-for-terrorists-and-criminals/articleshow/46382227.cms

http://techonomy.com/2016/08/27253/

(Excerpts from a forthcoming book by the author) 

Further Readings: Internet of Things

 How data management unlocks the internet of things

https://www.itu.int/pub/T-TUT-SMARTCITY-2016-2

Solution: Internet of Things without ecological disaster

Internet of Things For a Beginner -Readings

Forbes - Author - Jacob Morgan 

A Simple Explanation Of 'The Internet Of Things'


The Guardian 

What is the internet of things?



McKinsey & Company 

The Internet of Things By Michael Chui, Markus Löffler, and Roger Roberts

Pangs of restructuring in the IT industry?

"Microsoft :  $3.2 billion quarterly net loss. "

IBM "revenues dropped for the 13th consecutive quarter and fell short of analyst expectations."  

United Technologies: "cutting its full-year profit outlook for the third time this year."

(From Various Reuters Reports)

Is it that the tech companies are experiencing a slow down as an aftermath of global slowdown?

Are technology companies undergoing the throes of disruptive power?

Are we seeing a withering away of technological centricity- of tech concentric power?

Are the old 'too big to fail companies'(TBTF)  companies  (IBM, Microsoft) set for struggle or lost in the woods of Internet of Things?

Is the IoT driving towards a restructuring of  the internet industry?

What is worrying for the real world industry is that technology, which is what drives productivity is lagging behind. If tech companies are under spells of non performance, real companies taht depend on technology for their throughput cannot be far behind.

Technological innovation must be most focused on the Internet of Industrial Things to keep the growth momentum. 

A worrying day for growth optimists. 

Note: This blog offers no investment advice. The views expressed here are without any risk or responsibility. 

The 7 Principles of the Internet of Things (IoT) by Tom Bradricich

Dr. . Tom Bradicich, VP of Server Engineering at Hewlett-Packard enunciates the 7 principles of IoT

QUOTE

"1. Big Analog Data

Analog data represents the natural and physical world and is everywhere or in other words is part of everything; light, sound, temperature, voltage, radio signals, moisture, vibration, velocity, wind, motion, video, acceleration, particulates, magnetism, current, pressure, time, and location. It’s the oldest, fastest, and biggest of all big data, but it represents an IT challenge in that it has more than two values that digital data has.

Simply put, in many ways analog data needs to be treated differently than digital data. The question is, and will continue to be, how can we efficiently unlock the business value of Big Analog Data?

2. Perpetual Connectivity

The IoT is always connected, always on, and that “Perpetual Connectivity” to products and users affords three key benefits:

• Monitor: Continuous monitoring which provides ongoing and real-time knowledge of the condition and usage of a product or user in a market or industrial setting.
• Maintain: Due to continual monitoring one can now push upgrades, fixes, patches, and management as needed.
• Motivate: Constant and ongoing connection to consumers or workers gives organizations a way to compel or motivate others to take some action, purchase a product, etc.

I refer to these as the Three M’s, and the notion that an organization can be perpetually connected to consumers and products is quite profound, with far-reaching implications and opportunities. For example, if your washing machine was connected to the IoT, predictive analytics could sense when the machine would fail and schedule a repair, say, ten days before that unfortunate event occurred. This way you’re not standing in front of a defunct washer holding a basket of dirty laundry. 

3. Really Real Time

The definition of real time differs from people who don’t understand the IoT than from people who do. Real time actually begins back at the sensor or the moment the data is acquired. Real time for the IoT does not begin when the data hits a network switch or computer system – by then it's too old. If you want to know if your house is going to catch on fire, how soon would you like to know that? Or if and when a crime may occur, mere seconds are crucial. Hence an alarm must go off in very real time, before the data even gets to the cloud or data center, or it doesn’t help.

The point is, we’re seeking to blend the world of operational technology (OT), sensors, and data measurement with the world of IT. The IoT blends these two worlds for the first time in a major way, and the results will be profound.

4. The Spectrum of Insight

The “Spectrum of Insight” derived from IoT data relates to its place in a five phase data flow: real time, in motion, early life, at rest, and archive. Recall real time for the IoT at the sensor or point of acquisition and analytics are needed to determine the immediate response of a control system and adjust accordingly, such as in military applications or precision robotics. At the other end of the spectrum, archived data in the data center or cloud can be retrieved for comparative analysis against newer, in-motion data, to gain insight into the seasonal behavior of an electrical power generating turbine, for example. Hence insight from the big data in the IoT can be extracted across a spectrum of time and location.

5. Immediacy Versus Depth

With today’s traditional computer and IoT solutions, there’s a trade-off between speed and depth. That is, one can get immediate “Time-to-Insight” on a rudimentary analytic such as a temperature comparison or fast Fourier transform to determine if rotating wheels on a tram will cause a life threating accident. Immediate Time-to-Insight is crucial here.

On the other end of the spectrum is the time required to gain deep insight. The example here is from one of my former customers, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Europe, where they smash subatomic particles together to seek insight into the make-up of such particles. The data collected here takes a long time to analyze, using large, back-end computer farms. Such depth of insight has resulted in the recent discovery of a new subatomic particle called the Higgs Boson.

6. Shift Left

Consider the mutually exclusive objective of deriving both immediate and deep insight, as discussed in #5 above. It’s really hard to get both today. However, engineers are good at resolving conflicting objectives and getting BOTH. James Collins has referred this phenomenon as “the genius of the AND”.

The drive to get both immediate and deep insight from data will cause sophisticated high end compute and data analytics that is normally reserved for the cloud or data center (what I call Tier 4 in the IoT solution), to migrate toward the left of the end-to-end IoT solution infrastructure. That is, deep compute will be positioned closer to the source of data, at the point of data acquisition and accumulation in sensors (what I call Tier 1) and network gateways (Tier 2). 

7. The Next ‘V’

Big data is commonly characterized by the infamous “V’s” --- Volume, Velocity, Variety, and Value. I propose a fifth “V” -- Visibility. When the data is collected, data scientists around the world should be able to see and work with it, as needed. Visibility refers to the benefit afforded by not having to transfer large amounts of data to remote people or locations. I love this idea of access to data and app “independent of time and place”. Mark Templeton, CEO of Citrix, adds a third independence: “independence of device”.  My team and I are working closely with our partner Citrix as we deploy time, place, and device independent “Visibility” solutions.

I’m quite enamored with the IoT and the deep implications of these seven principles. I’m currently helping lead a team to advance HP’s contributions to the IoT, and I’ll be discussing our path forward as we at HP play an increasingly important role in the emerging IoT." 

 UNQUOTE

This is a classic piece. 

Google picks up CMU for IoT

Google has chosen Carnegie Mellon University to lead a multi University Project in the IoT. Carnegie Mellon will collaborate with Cornell, Stanford and University of Illinois  to create a project code named GIoTTO. Google's Open Web of Things  seeks  to increase interoperability, security, and an workable user interface in the movement towards the Internet of Things. Google has awarded half a million dollars to Carnegie Mellon University to develop its campus  to be a "living lab" of cheap  but value generating sensors, integrated apps, and friendly user-developed tools. This grant seems to ensure applied research in keeping with Google's vision of m2m future.

The project, GIoTTo, seeks to transform  inanimate objects on to live, ticking and continuous sources of information. This information would convert to  big data format and permit data analysis. Students and staff at the University will create their own scripts on the basis of such big data.  With the voluminous quantity of data being generated on campus, the researchers aim for a  "living lab" element in the lives of the researchers.  Innovation and adoptive technologies are the key to success of IoT.

CMU researchers have already created new IoT technology, including Snap2It, which have users connect to printer or projector by taking a photo of it with their smartphone, and Impromptu, which accesses apps as needed, such as a public transit app when the user is at a bus stop.

An internet connected alarm clock could converse with an internet connected coffee machine to tell it when to have coffee ready. The current lack of interoperability among devices is an $8 trillion problem, according to McKinsey. McKinsey's  economic value-add forecasts states that if the IoT interoperability problem was solved, the IoT would add $11 trillion in 2020 to the global economy through increased efficiencies, such as savings on energy costs and infrastructure improvements.  

References:

http://www.gizmag.com/carnegie-internet-of-things-google/38430/

http://www.businessinsider.in/Google-is-helping-build-an-Internet-of-Things-campus/articleshow/48060045.cms

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/07/13/carnegie-mellon-to-lead-internet-of-things-expedition.aspx?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Education%20Dive%3A%20Higher%20Ed&utm_campaign=Issue%3A%202015-07-14%20Higher%20Ed%20Education%20Dive%20Newsletter

This author can be contacted at jaynayar@gmail.com

Smart Education and New Skills Thru Internet of Education

Seeking Value in the New Education Model in Emerging Economies

Deriving Value concept in education is what leaders in emerging economies must embrace: Value is adding benefits at lesser costs (V = B-C).  The new educational model must  look to network innovations which are interconnected - connect  to  create value.

Cisco predicts that by 2020 there will be 50 billion “things” connected to the Internet, up from 25 billion in 2015. The future is one of data analytics - the need to mine and draw inferences on student performances. The new order provides an integration of faculty (human ) and the digital elements. The Educational Internet of Things (IoEd) would enable educational institutions to utilize software strengthened sensors, machine-to-machine conversations and learning. It will exploit technologies to harness and analyze data from the student world  and then use those analyses to add value to educational organizations.  

Enhancing value applies to any educational product or service:  An education institution might offer a product like degree/ diploma  or a given service in the form of enhancing knowledge, competency, or skill sets or just plain offer a given social good (churning out model citizens)- in all of these categories, there has to be value generation in the logistic chain. 

Tomorrow's educational entities will be in smart buildings (Smart education city) . There will be smart academic infrastructure. Educational development will be integrated with new smart cities. Such moves will generate value through greater economies of scale.

Steps essential:

·         The psyche build up to usher in innovative change.

·         Thinking  outside the usual framework- thinking technologically right.

·         Looking  beyond current knowledge base of teachers

·         Looking beyond current functional skill sets of teachers

·         Working with a technologically proficient team and partnering with innovative institutions to strengthen the capacity and to induce technological motivation

·         Have a cross disciplinary approach: What works in patient care works in student service. - Tender, loving care (TLC) - So one could borrow from other silos.

Hardware:

The new model has  to draw from the potential well of technology. Technology is time constraining and resource intensive. Technology intervention points are:

·         the use of laptops for elucidation in class rooms,( .ppt presentations)

·         watching videos/ you tube in classrooms,

·         coping with learning management systems,

·         engaging with peers on line for self learning by teachers,

·         engage with students on line, accepting assignments and course work on line.  

·         conducting on line tests

·         declaring results on line

There could be a host of devices deployed to facilitate e studies:

·         Laptops,

·         Chrome books,

·         Macs,

·         iPads,

·         Windows machines

For data analytics and predictive usage, centralization of data and of accompanying software is of essence.

Balancing between costs and mass drives at technology accessed 'in to' schools is essential to ensure the preparedness of students for tomorrow's jobs. Drawing in support from corporate entities to  usher in greater technological value build up in education is the challenge as resources are a constraint. .

Cisco identifies the following Skills in the times of Internet of Things 

Cisco - 21st Century Skills

•         Collaboration

•         Communication

•         Creativity

•         Problem solving

•         ICT proficiency

•         Critical thinking

Cisco - Global leadership skills

•         Global mindset

•         Languages proficiency

•         Cultural awareness

•         Team player

•         Professionalism

•         Work ethics

Cisco - Entrepreneurial Skills

•         Opportunity recognition

•         Self-direction

•         Persuasion

•         Planning skills

•         Risk taking

•         Resourcefulness

Cisco quotes top 10 skills for the future workforce

•         Sense making

•         Social intelligence

•         Novel and adaptive thinking

•         Cross-cultural competency

•         Computational thinking

•         New-media literacy

•         Transdisciplinarity

•         Design mindset

•         Cognitive load management

•         Virtual collaboration.

 The new model is about getting the people and process  in the act .

This is a part of the research work on the Internet of Education by the author. He can be contacted  at jaynayar@gmail.com.

Chief Innovation Officer : University Appointment

Good Universities need to  have the infrastructure and protocols in place to pursue a scientific  innovation strategy. This would include internal and external innovation through start-up partnership, investment and co-development of innovative projects. The emphasis must be on the Internet of Things. The technology industry is abuzz with the IoT, with IoT equated to the industrial revolution. A  profound transformation lies ahead in ways humans and machines interact with each other. Universities have a facilitator role here.

Universities need to  appoint a qualified Chief Innovation Officer for facilitating the Internet of Things. 

More on the Internet of Education

Internet of Things (IoT)  is supposed to carry a $ 19 trillion value-at-stake tag over the next decade, says Cisco[1]. That volume of a bill suggests opening up of  opportunities to individuals, households, groups, firms and companies into an economy that is struggling to be born. The frontiers of economics are expanding into  'more of techniques and less of men'  scenario. (Y= f(k,l, t) where Y = output, k = capital, l= labour  and t = technology )

Education's new challenge is that it  must  thrive within this rapidly evolving IoE economy which is machine and connectivity oriented.

Internet of Education (IoEd) should be envisaged as a networked connection of students and teachers, learning and teaching processes, of relevant data and of devices, which are charged and linked by cloud, mobile, social analytics and which is protected by security. The medium of IT would trigger off great changes in the operational technology  of delivery of education. 

IoEd is about using sensors and wireless connectivity to  support educational activities. This connectivity calls for reliability of data and systems, adherence to high standards of professional etiquette, data integrity and to continuous evaluation of performance. IoEd would connect the academic and physical worlds through information technology.  There has to be an established data bank based on the registration, progression, internal processes and the contributory and contextual environment in academic institutions. This will increase the outreach of education, dynamically augment efficiencies, stress on mechanization of academic activities and minimize delivery risk in teaching.

Education has now to move into this internet world to coexist with and exist in the cloud.  Education support professionals (read technical staff) have to evolve a portfolio and an ecosystem of cloud infrastructure and application services that allow teaching  and learning to uniquely and securely coalesce with cloud applications and services which can be used by both faculty and students. Educators have to deliver, using online and offline, on site and off site modes utilizing multiple cloud models. 

Networked connections have to make education accessible, relevant and valuable. There has to be a transformation process from mere information into knowledge. Knowledge has to collectively grow into wisdom and thus constitute the core competence of the educational institutions.

IoEd has to create new capabilities out of the many experiences and learning curves it has earned.   IoEd has to pick up the appropriate middleware platform. There has to be an IoEd Strategy which supports the identification and development of solutions.  Successful business application ensures costing and monetization of each activity.

Miniaturization technology and use of smart wearables add to the effectiveness of IoEd. In M2M (machine to machine) and M2m (Machine to men) connectivity paths, design, applications, measured performance, efficiency parameters, interoperability of devices, drawing up of scenarios, (what - if)   interactive methods are all significant.   Both, hardware and software become collaborative in their effort to deliver academic value.

Educational institutions have to use enterprise planning for new IoEd architectures, standards and protocols which are to build the working ecosystem.   Developers have to harmonize thoughts with educators to develop platforms.  The time to market for application development is short.  New technologies – hardware, software, bandwidth, sensor –have to integrate to make new solutions feasible for the first time.  Education has to   interact and change to fast lanes with computing technology . The economies will come in with the concept of leveraging academic data at micro and macro levels. Educational institutions have to reckon with hardware commoditization, software solution development, connectivity, big data and data analytics. 

   

  

 Note : These strands of thought are a part of the research work being undertaken by the author on the Internet of Education. Copyright of this material vests with the author, Jayaram Nayar. He can be contacted at jaynayar@gmail.com

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[1] The Internet of Everything—A $19 Trillion Opportunity; http://www.cisco.com/web/services/portfolio/consulting-services/documents/consulting-services-capturing-ioe-value-aag.pdf

From the Managerial Zoo -5 Managers in the Days of Internet of Things

The Lion Manager (LM)

Young technocrats may have to work with a number of different types of managers - some supportive, some obsolete. This author tries, in this series,  to portray these   managers in these days of  the digital manager. 

These managers are regal and highly distinctive managers. They are  well groomed and carry themselves with dignity. They are majestic. They carry on their appearances with a flair and a fashion. They stay aloof from others. They are a cut above the others. Treated by subordinates with awe, they do not indulge in small talk. They do not need to play politics. They command respect. They work smarter, activity being interspersed with logical think time. They are strategists. They like tigers,  have a 'pride area' of operations and no other department can interfere in their jurisdiction. They are autonomous managers.  Lion Managers  often expect personal loyalty from among the subordinates. 

Lions like to design effective strategy, policies, plans, standards, processes, tools, and techniques. They take logical decisions on when, and how  to source to external providers. They monitor and align the processes, tools, and techniques. They create value in deliverables. They stress on evidence- data analysis and IT/technology architecture . Under their guidance , there is an effective cycle of information within the organization.

However, these majestic lions  have  unbelievable flaws as they are scavengers; they might eat the kill of others. ( my idol has feet of clay!!!). They might misuse power quietly to their advantage. None dares question the lord of the land. Managers,  are intensely sensitive when it comes to themselves.

(Excerpts from the author's manuscript on the IoT Manager. Copyright vests with  the author)