Draft page under construction

This guide is for teachers new to the IOT in Schools project. Local authority schools in the south east of Scotland — East Lothian, Edinburgh, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian — have the offer of sensors, gateway and associated web services, free of charge from the University of Edinburgh.

✅ No technical expertise required — it’s largely numeracy and science!
1

Have you got a LoRaWAN Gateway in school?

Tektelic Kona LoRaWAN Gateway device

Tektelic Kona LoRaWAN Gateway

If you have been given a LoRaWAN Gateway similar to this device, the first thing to do is plug the adapter into an electrical socket. It is best located somewhere where it will not be switched off and preferably not inside a metal cupboard.

It has to be turned on 24/7/365 — it listens for any sensors in the school and local community and transfers the data to the University of Edinburgh.

Note: If you have not been given a LoRaWAN Gateway, your local authority digital team have likely already installed one in school. Network-installed gateways are more efficient than the 4G gateway devices. If you are unsure whether a gateway is already working in your school, contact tommy.lawson@ed.ac.uk.
2

Find your indoor environment sensors

Elsys indoor environment sensor

Elsys indoor environment sensor

Every school is given a small number of indoor environment sensors like the one shown here. Some have a small LCD screen and others have a solar panel.

Depending on the model, they can measure:

🌡️ Temperature 💧 Humidity 🚶 Presence 🌬️ Atmospheric Pressure 💨 CO₂ 💡 Light Levels

Data is sent every 10 minutes to the University’s servers and displayed as a line graph.

Note: The sensors and gateway do not need to be physically connected — sensors have batteries with a 3–5 year life and transmit data via radio to the gateway. The batteries are not standard AA cells, so please don’t try to replace them.
3

Check your data is coming through

No complicated setup is required — the technology usually works straight out of the box. Before letting learners loose with the sensors, check that data is coming through from your school.

On a computer, tablet or mobile phone, open: learn.iot.ed.ac.uk

3a — Click on Sensor Data

learn.iot.ed.ac.uk website homepage showing Sensor Data link

3b — Click the link to Sensor Data in Schools

Sensor data web page with school region selector

3c — Choose your school region and school name, then select a sensor

Grafana school dashboard showing sensor list

Sensors with a green background are active; red means not currently transmitting.

3d — Your sensor’s live data graph

Grafana sensor dashboard showing live data graph
4

Give the sensors to the learners

Children working in class with sensor data

Learners exploring sensor data in class

We’ve found in most schools that the best way to engage learners is to let them explore and discover their environment through data.

Many schools give two sensors to a class — one to collect ambient data from the indoor environment and one placed somewhere that produces different data, such as:

  • The dining room
  • The library
  • The headteacher’s office
  • The school kitchen
  • A greenhouse
  • Under the eaves of an outdoor hut
Tip: Sensors can go anywhere as long as they are kept dry. Under eaves in a playground is fine — outside in the open is too exposed to rain.

Before moving on to lesson guides, spend five minutes a week encouraging learners to describe what they see on the graphs. Start with questions like:

  • Why does CO₂ increase gradually when school starts in the morning?
  • Is there any data that can tell you when the school breaks are?
  • When does it get light in the morning and dark in the evening?
  • What units are used on the horizontal and vertical axes?
  • What is atmospheric pressure?
  • How does classroom temperature compare with the weather outside?

Their dialogue and vocabulary when describing the data will develop throughout this time.

5

Look through the lesson guides

Learning resources and lesson guides

Lesson guides tagged to CfE outcomes

Choose a lesson guide that suits your class. You can use a small part of one, combine several, or work through them in sequence — they’re designed to be flexible.

All lesson guides are:

  • Tagged to Curriculum for Excellence (CfE)
  • Available in MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and PDF formats
  • Created by teachers, for teachers
Browse the Lesson Guides →
Questions about getting started? Email tommy.lawson@ed.ac.uk — we’re happy to help with setup, sensor checks, or lesson planning.

Published 8 October 2024  |  Contact us