Exploring the Internet of Things: Hands-On IoT Learning Mapped to the IT Pillars

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming our homes, businesses, and other enterprises into digital domains with a presence on the Internet. Increasingly enterprises are adopting IoT products, and they will employ individuals to design and support their IoT infrastructures, analyze their data and respond to the benefits and challenges of IoT. During the months of May and June 2022, the Department of Integrated Information Technology (IIT) within the College of Engineering and Computing at the University of South Carolina designed and taught a special topics course focused on IoT from the perspective of the IT Pillars – networking, programming, databases, HCI, and web systems. The course's focus on hands-on learning labs mapped to the IT Pillars distinguished this course from other IoT courses offered by the University of South Carolina. Student performance and feedback demonstrated that the course structure and content, including hands-on labs and projects, was an effective way to introduce students to IoT from the broad perspective of IT applied to real-world applications. Another benefit was a greater appreciation of the depth, scope, and impact of IoT on each of the IT Pillars and its importance in our curricula as we prepare students for their professional careers.