The IOT in Schools programme is part of a wider programme of Data Driven Innovation sponsored by the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal, part of which is to develop data skills and literacy in the school-aged population.
The IOT in Schools programme will look to deploy some ten-thousand sensors across schools in City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian. The sensors in the hands of our learners will measure entities such as temperature, humidity, CO2 and many others. The learners will have access to their sensors readings, enabling them to address local problems.
The project is in three phases (dates will depend on Covid-19 recovery)
- Phase 1 – Pilot work with learners, teachers, university students and staff in Newbattle High School (2019 and 2021)
- Phase 2 – Deploy gateways and sensors to 20 – 40 schools
- Phase 3 – Deploy gateways and sensors to the remaining 500 schools
Work has already begun in Newbattle High School with a pilot LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) and a collection of environmental sensors. This initial pilot work in Newbattle (Phase 1) will inform a wider roll-out of technology for up to 40 schools hopefully in the period September to December 2021 (phase 2) and a subsequent programme across all schools (Phase 3).
Alongside the deployment of LoRaWAN technology to transport data from local sensors to the UoE Secure Data Store, there will be some pilot work around the type of sensors that are useful within the school context and a classroom hub that will give a window on the data in transit.
Teachers will be given lesson guides to help integrate the new technology into the existing curriculum. One of the most popular themes is the Climate Challenge.