What is a smart school? And what are their benefits?

Smart schools are a modern concept in the field of education, but they have recently received a lot of attention from countries and educational institutions. With the enormous technological advancements of recent decades, smart schools have become one of the modern and effective methods of improving the quality of education and providing a more interactive and efficient learning environment.

Considering the interest that smart schools have received from countries and educational institutions around the world, it can be said that the application of this educational system has become a focus of their strategic plans in the field of education. This is due to the numerous benefits provided by this system, from improving the quality of education and enabling students to access educational resources more quickly and easily, to increasing student interaction with educational content and developing their mental and creative abilities.

Although the challenges facing smart schools are still many, the direction of countries and educational institutions towards the implementation of this system indicates the importance of smart schools in the field of education and the necessity to overcome the challenges and risks that this system may face to reach better levels of education quality and enable students to learn in more effective and interactive ways.

What is Smart School?

The Smart School is a modern concept that relies on using modern technology in the process of teaching and learning with the aim of improving the quality of education and making it a more effective learning experience. Smart schools use a range of modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality, and augmented reality to enable students to learn in high-quality ways and provide a suitable learning environment to meet the needs of different students.The Smart School is an integration between technology and education, aiming to improve the quality of education and increase the effectiveness of the learning process, and providing a variety of educational services for students, such as virtual classrooms and electronic communication between students, teachers, educational advisors, and assistants. Implementing the Smart School is considered one of the modern and effective ways to enhance educational quality and improve the level of learning and productivity in the educational process.

Statistics show the extent of the development of the Smart School concept over the past years:

There are several statistics that indicate the extent of the development of the Smart School concept over the past years, including:

According to the “Global Education 2020” report issued by UNESCO, there has been a significant increase in the use of technology in education worldwide. The report indicated that 90% of the world’s countries have launched initiatives to integrate technology into education, and that 80% of students in advanced countries use technology in education.
According to a report by the marketing research company “Markets and Markets,” the size of the Smart School market is expected to reach $73.8 billion by 2025, compared to a market size of $43.6 billion in 2018.
According to a report by the market research company “Technavio,” the Smart School market is expected to grow at an annual rate of more than 22% from 2019 to 2023, due to the increasing reliance of more educational institutions on technology in the process of teaching and learning.
According to a report by “Holistics,” a business intelligence and data analytics platform, Smart School technology has already been adopted by many countries in Asia, including Singapore, China, and South Korea, and has proven to be effective in improving the quality of education and learning outcomes.

The difference between smart schools and traditional schools

Smart schools differ from traditional schools in many aspects, and some of the most prominent differences between them are:

Use of technology: Smart schools heavily rely on using technology in the teaching and learning process, while traditional schools primarily rely on traditional methods and techniques such as textbooks, blackboards, paper, and pen.
Interaction and participation: Smart schools encourage effective interaction and participation of students in the teaching and learning process, while traditional schools tend to use pre-emptive teaching methods that do not greatly encourage active interaction and participation of students.
Learning environment: Smart schools are characterized by an advanced and diverse learning environment that relies on modern and innovative technologies, while traditional schools rely on a more traditional learning environment based on traditional teaching methods.
Support and guidance: Smart schools provide many tools and technologies that help students improve their academic performance and provide them with the necessary support and guidance, while traditional schools may lack this type of support and guidance.
Time and place: Smart schools allow students to learn at any time and any place using mobile devices, while traditional schools only allow learning in classrooms and at certain times.
Evaluation and instructions: Smart schools and traditional schools differ in the way students receive evaluation and instructions. Smart schools provide continuous assessment and immediate feedback to students, as well as help them identify mistakes and provide the necessary instructions to overcome them, while traditional schools provide periodic evaluation and general instructions that do not always meet the needs of each student individually.
Collaboration and communication: Smart schools encourage collaboration and communication between students, teachers, and the wider educational community, where information, ideas, and resources are easily exchanged, while traditional schools may lack this type of collaboration and communication.