Creative Internet of Things (IoT) for Undergraduates

Abstract

This article presents results of our pilot study for a new Internet of Things (IoT) course for CS undergraduates. Most of the current IoT courses proposed focused on designing and developing new classroom activities and projects. However, we strongly believe that open-ended student project can enhance students’ creative thinking. After providing fundamental theories and related hands-on activities, we allowed students to choose their own final project topic. Since our course covers hardware platforms, programming, networking protocols, and data storage of IoT systems and applications in the classroom, students can be ready for exploring new real-world problems at the end. By choosing their own project topic, students have a chance to apply their classroom leanings to solve new problems creatively and learn new skills by themselves. Course evaluation based on student feedback shows high level of enthusiasm and engagement for the course especially for hands-on activities and final open-ended project.