Abstract
Smart technologies, modern equipment, hardware, and software systems have created unprecedented opportunities for education and training institutions to take new approaches to teaching and the provision of educational services. The concept of smart university and related concepts such as smart learning environment, smart education, smart pedagogy, and smart learners are becoming buzzwords and widely adopted by universities. This chapter presents a comprehensive description of the smart university concept and its components. It presents the findings of an assessment of a smart university model at Hanoi University of Science and Technology against the established components of a smart university. The study utilizes quantitative and qualitative surveys of 535 students from the Hanoi University of Science and Technology in Vietnam. Investigation of these factors provided an assessment of the current initiative and paved a path for the future development of technological infrastructure and support.
TopIntroduction
The recent advancement in Smart technology, wide accessibility to modern equipment, and hardware/software systems have opened up opportunities to innovate new teaching approaches. These advances allow the provision of Smart services establishment of high-technology amphitheaters, classrooms and laboratories for students. Several countries across the globe, including Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Australia, America (New York) and United Arab Emirates (UAE), have participated in Smart education projects (Zhu, Yu & Riezebos 2016).
These Smart education projects create Smart environments by using advanced technology that allows the implementation of Smart pedagogies (Zhu & He, 2012). The primary goal of these Smart projects is to improve the education system using scientific and advanced technology to encourage learners to develop creativity, analytical and innovative thinking. These Smart pedagogies provide personalized learning services, allow learners to actively participate in the learning process, and foster self-oriented study skills in an interactive and engaging learning environment (Zhu & He, 2012; Bui et al., 2022). The key components identified in Smart education projects are: Smart learning environment, Smart Campus, Smart Education, Smart Pedagogies, and Smart Classrooms (Uskov et al., 2018, 2019; Karkazis et al., 2019; Nguyen Huu Duc et al., 2020). Smart universities effectively integrate Smart education components through infrastructure, policies, curriculum, digital resources, virtual teaching environments, and much more (Heinemann et Uskov, 2017; Uskov et al., 2018).
Vietnam, V-SMARTH model (Nguyen Huu Duc et al., 2020) proposes six essential components: digital resources, accessible learning materials, virtual teaching-learning, unique learning needs, interactive teaching-learning methods and digital infrastructure as critical features. By following popular models of Smart Universities, The Hanoi University of Science and Technology [HUST] has made efforts to adopt its own model to obtain the status of a Smart University. Therefore, this study aims to assess the current status of these components at the HUST, examine the quality and application of smart components at HUST, use of smart technology in relation to smart pedagogies, and finally, the perception of students and instructors towards this model. By examining the state, quality, and perception of the Smart University model, HUST can identify areas where technology can be used more effectively to improve efficiency and productivity in teaching and learning. The study will help understand technology's potential impact on HUST, identify potential risks, and take steps to mitigate them. Further, it can help plan for the future and promote innovation.
In the section below, we provide an in-depth yet concise review of Smart education and its features and goals, Smart learning environment framework and goals, Smart pedagogies models and the new technologies that provide support for Smart pedagogies. We also provide an overview of the Smart university model in general, specifically of Vietnam, V-SMARTH model.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Smart Learners: People who master the knowledge and skills of the 21st century to meet the challenges and demands of life and work in the digital age.
Smart Technologies: Hardware and software systems used in smart classrooms and smart schools that allow individualization of learners and enhance interaction and cooperation between learners and learner-teachers.
V-SMARTH: The smart university model of Vietnam that is suitable to the actual conditions and starting point of universities in Vietnam.
Smart Pedagogies: A set of technology integrated teaching methods aimed at helping teachers better understand the characteristics of learners to build an appropriate learning environment that helps learners achieve learning goals.
Smart University: A comprehensive innovation of educational processes by improving technology infrastructure to optimize knowledge management capabilities.
Smart Learning Environment: A learner-centered learning environment providing personalized and adaptive learning services using interactive and collaborative tools.
Smart Education: The efficient and rational use of smart technologies to provide personalized learning, anytime, anywhere, enabling learners to achieve learning outcomes using suitable pedagogy approaches.