Examining the Effects of Physical Variables in Classrooms on Students' Attention via the Internet of Things

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effects of physical variables (temperature, humidity, air quality, light, and sound) and those pertaining to the monitoring these physical variables on a group of students in terms of attention, motivation, attitudes, and perceptions of academic achievement (POA). The students were provided with a chance to monitor the physical variables through the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. This study employed a causal comparative design, which is a quantitative research method. The sample chosen by convenience sampling consisted of 262 undergraduate students from five different educational environments in the faculty of education of a large state university located in the Northeast Turkey. A prototype measuring the physical variables of the educational environments and enabling to send these to the internet was developed in the context of an IoT application, and it was ensured that the students in the five different educational environments monitored the physical variables for six weeks. Data were collected by use of the prototype created in the framework of IoT and a questionnaire. Consequently, it was concluded that the physical variables did not have significant effects on attitudes, but temperature, air quality, light, and sound had significant effects on students’ attention, motivation, and perceptions of academic achievement. Furthermore, results showed that monitoring the physical variables caused a difference in the students’ motivation, attention, attitudes, and POA.