No abstract

Abstract:The information and communication technologies (ICT) have penetrated into almost all areas of human life. They have a dual impact on education -increase learning efficiency and train students actively to use innovations. We assess this impact by examining teachers' experience with innovative tools in Bulgarian schools. In an anonymous online survey, we investigate their opinions on the issues related to technology integration in contemporary classrooms. The research shows that educators appreciate the benefits of technology implementation in the teaching-learning process, but they need a single structured system encompassing all technological resources and tools. This work proposes a conception for a smart classroom -an innovative learning environment that can establish and control suitable conditions for education as well as to impact the instructional process directly. IntroductionRecently the information and communication technologies (ICT) have become omnipresent in the whole society, and the educational area is not an exception. The traditional classroom becomes rich of technology to meet the expectations of digital age. Although it provides many facilities, the usage of technology as a tool to boost students learning is still evolving. So as to get know to what extent this practice has penetrated into Bulgarian schools, we conducted an online survey among innovative teachers. It is designed to explore their general perceptions and attitude to technology in education. The main goal is to gain a better understanding of how teachers implement ICT in their work, what are the important aspects and which are the most used tools and services. Data from our study shows that teachers still have a dual attitude to technology -they recognize its value, but they still need more qualification and help when it comes to using it in meaningful and engaging ways for students. Most of the teachers are ready to use ICT tools in classrooms. However, there are not enough appropriate applications integrated into a single structured system. Furthermore, respondents outline contemporary usage trends as well as the forward-looking technology applications to smarten up the teachinglearning process. To generalize, teachers require not only structural but functional enhancement of the learning space. They need an engaging learning environment, satisfying the different educational needs and interests of learners, fostering collaboration and interaction between students and teachers as well as supporting multiple ways to share knowledge. Traditional classroom transformed to smart one, i.e. designed with build internet of things (IoT) integrated into a smart educational system can fulfill such educational needs. Teachers' OpinionsAccording to the survey, only 40% of the respondents have a learning management system in their schools. The use of ICT in support of educational process has versatile effects for both teachers and students. It enables the creation of a dynamic environment that allows students to express both their sk...

No abstract

Nowadays, information and communication technologies (ICT) and the Internet of Things (IoT) are already ubiquitous in the field of education. They began significantly to change the way of teaching and learning. A large-scale online survey in Bulgarian schools shows that in most classrooms different innovative tools are available which allow technologyenhanced teaching. The next step is to integrate these resources and tools into a smart environment and to manage them through a control system. The authors provide a conceptual framework for the development of an integrated technology-rich learning environment that is supervised by a control module within a contemporary smart classroom. In particular, the paper presents in detail a technical solution for ensuring the communication process between students and the teacher as well as allowing the involvement of parents in the educational process. Additionally, some use cases of the smart classroom are outlined, along with discussions on the potential benefits for teachers, learners and parents. UDC Classification: 004.9,