PREPARING THE PHILIPPINES FOR THE INTERNET-OF-THINGS (IoT)

AND BIG DATA SOCIETY THROUGH INNOVATION

IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEMS

A Thesis Proposal
Presented to Miss Bessy Bare
School of Graduate Studies
University of Nueva Caceres
City of Naga

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF EDUCATION
MAJOR IN LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

DEXTER B. AMOROSO
Sept 3, 2018

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 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

There are waves of progress which have been defining

the world’s civilizations, first is the industrial

revolution, second is the information revolution (which

includes computers, networking, Internet, handheld social

media tools) and third is the upcoming Internet-Of-Things

and Big Data.

These three waves are still going on, both elbowing

against each other and yet embracing each other as they are

all affecting nations and their citizens in different

sequences and stages. All these because nations are in

different technological status, which means that due to

their different economic standing and political maturity

these diverse countries are precariously struggling and

adjusting to the battering of these three “waves” of

progress.

Although the First World countries were able to take

advantage and make use of the mentioned waves of progress,

the “struggling and adjusting” of other countries,

especially that of the Third World countries is costly in

terms of time, money, and lost opportunities because some

of these countries did not prepare for the coming of these

“waves” due to sheer ignorance, false confidence, and

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indifference. Thus many countries were not able to profit

from these waves of progress and were not able to propel

themselves towards progress by riding on these waves.

Obviously, how can many of these countries benefit from

something which they do not know and are not prepared well?

Which is why, this time almost all countries in the

world are summoning all their resources to prepare for the

coming of the Internet-Of-Things and Big Data society.

According to Euromonitor International (2018),

countries that are most ready to adopt IoT-Big Data

technologies are US, Singapore, Netherlands, Finland,

Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Denmark, Australia, South

Korea, Taiwan, Israel, Sweden, Norway, Australia, New

Zealand, UK, Belgium, Ireland, Hong Kong, China, Spain,

France, Canada, Iceland and Greece. How about the

Philippines?

Here in the Philippines, on December 2017

Intelligensia (the pioneering think-tank on IoT-Big Data

and the first IoT-Big Data school) sponsored a Tech-Forum

titled: Strategizing Internet of Things Towards a

Knowledge-Based Economy at Ortigas Center, Pasig City,

Philippines. In this Tech-Forum, our country’s

(Philippines) IT experts and decision-makers talked,

interacted, and pledged on their commitment to fully

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understand, appreciate and prepare for the coming Internet-

Of-Things (IoT-Big Data).

On this Tech-Forum the following experts opined,

Emmanuel SD Lopez, former Consultant at PEZA, recommended a

way to bring us closer to where advanced countries

currently at. He said, “the Philippines must extract itself

from unnecessary government regulations and business

burdens that dampens FDI inflows, push for greater

transparency in the bureaucracy and pursue the fight

against corruption in all sectors to improve the overall

investment climate and generate investor confidence.” (Ways

to attract FDI to Philippines, 2017, p. 38).

But because the FDI surge, the cleaning up of corrupt

bureaucracies, the upscale improvement of cyber-structures

into the 5G superstructure will still take some time, that

is why, the CEO & President of Edukad-IOT, Bennet L.

Amoroso (2018)is focusing more on the preparation side. He

said, “humans are so good in maneuvering from some infra

limitations. Remember the internet? It invaded the

Philippines, slow, so slow, creeping like a caterpillar,

but surely it invaded us. IoT-Big Data will be that way

too. The 5G infra will just be a bonus. But woe to those

who will wait for 5G first BEFORE preparing the educational

system. We as of now, even with our lousy and slow telco-

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infras must and can prepare for the coming Internet-Of-

Things (IoT-Big Data).

Leo Lireo (2018) President of IOT Technology Inc, is

also very optimistic even with the so-called slow

infrastructure since he believes that information-driven

machines (the IoTs) can already sense, analyze, and provide

information even in slow infrastructure because an existing

and operational platform is already presently available

which can deliver everything to the Cloud without much

bandwidth requirement. So even with slow and limited

bandwidth which the Philippines has now, the IoTs which

according to Lirio is transitioning from IT to OT can

already be operational.

On the “operational” functionality by the way, he

(Lirio) also added that there is indeed an ongoing digital

transformation from IT to OT. OT stands for Operations

Technology. And the good news is that, the paradigm shift

from IT to OT will even leapfrog and render irrelevant the

limitation in bandwidth as long as the necessary

technological strategy is in place and the preparation

stage for IoT-Big Data is correctly set up in our country.

Another paradigm shift is also expected by Data

Scientist Wilson Chua (2018) by predicting that those who

rely on the limited capacity of human-brain to memorize

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huge, voluminous and big data will sooner or later fail

because computers can already best handle the huge-memory

side: the Big Data. Even the low-level strategy side can

already be handled and processed by machines which will be

augmenting humans in looking after and analyzing the huge

and massive information patterns. Humans can therefore

focus on the most decisive and life-changing challenge,

which is that of plotting for and implementing the grand

strategy of IoT-Big Data so that ideally everyone as in all

human beings on earth can be fully alive and can achieve

their highest potentials through the IoT-Big Data.

Afterall, the most integrated approach is that technologies

must serve humans and not the other way around.

In the Philippine setting therefore, the main key in

harnessing all these mentioned powers of IoT-Big Data

issues is on the preparation side. And on the preparation

side, our educational system is the only thing which is

within our control. Other factors of success are beyond our

control, as they are usually dictated by outside forces and

ever-shifting geopolitics of which Foreign Direct

Investment (FDI) is very vulnerable. Not to mention, the

fact that in the Philippines, the demand for more bandwidth

and speedier Internet infrastructures are not being

supplied by the present duopoly in telecommunications.

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There is hopefully another telecommunication company coming

in to dismantle the duopoly, but without a proper national

strategy, this new one could be the third player in the

tripoly.

This Thesis Proposal therefore aims to suggest

practical ways on how to prepare our educational system for

the coming IoT-Big Data as this same Iot-Big Data will also

innovate, improve and redefine the present educational

system. Just like in the film "Field of Dreams", we build

the proper preparation... and IOT-Big Data will come. The

proper preparation precedes proper innovation.

But because we cannot prepare for something if we

cannot understand it well and we cannot be motivated

strongly to prepare without knowing the benefits of what we

are preparing for, that is why this Thesis Proposal is

comprehensive enough in discussing both the benefits of an

IoT-Big Data-driven educational system as the same

educational system must first be prepared for the coming of

IoT-Big Data.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study will attempt to provide the benefits and

drawbacks of IOT and Big Data and prepare the Philippines

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for the IOT and Big Data society. Specifically, it will

answer the following questions:

1. What is Internet of Things or IOT?

2. What is Big Data?

3. What are the innovations being done in other

countries to prepare their society for the coming

Iot-Big Data?

4. What are the benefits of IOT and Big Data in our

Educational system?

5. What are the practical ways to prepare now for IoT-

Big Data in terms of facilitating adoption of IOT-

based and Big Data-driven innovation in Philippine

Education Systems?

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

The study is exploratory in nature and

focuses on the preparation and benefits of an IoT-Big Data-

driven educational system in the Philippines and the

preparation of this educational system for the coming of

IoT-Big Data.

The primary data gathering method that will be used are

observation, documentary analysis and interview to

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determine the State of IOT and the changes needed to move

this country forward.

This study does not cover IOT applications and IoT

security in various industries.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This study will be anchored on the following models

and theories: LoRaWAN, Cloud Computing, Edge Computing, Fog

Computing,Land Computing and the Standards for an

Architectural Framework for the Internet of Things. The

different model theories will be elucidated below.

Figure 1 – Theoretical Framework

(Note: Pictures in the Theoretical Framework are not mine.

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Fair use invoked. Trademark logos don’t mean endorsement.)
LoRaWAN. A media access control (MAC) layer protocol

designed for large-scale public networks with a single

operator. It is built using Semtech’sLoRa modulation

scheme.

Cloud Computing. Simply put, cloud computing is the

delivery of computing services—servers, storage, databases,

networking, software, analytics and more—over the Internet

(“the cloud”). Companies offering these computing services

are called cloud providers and typically charge for cloud

computing services based on usage, similar to how you are

billed for water or electricity at home.

Edge computing.In the context of IoT, 'edge' refers to the

computing infrastructure that exists close to the sources

of data, for example, industrial machines (e.g. wind

turbine, magnetic resonance (MR) scanner, undersea blowout

preventers), industrial controllers such as SCADA systems,

and time series databases aggregating data from a variety

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of equipment and sensors. These devices typically reside

away from the centralize computing available in the cloud.

Fog Computing.Fog computing extends the concept of cloud

computing to the network edge, making it ideal for internet

of things (IoT) and other applications that require real-

time interactions.

Land Computing. IOT Technology Inc use embedded

technologies, firmware programming and local device

processing to create an environment of land computing. IOT

Technology Inc. in partnership with Packetworx to realize

Internet of Things here in the Philippines. Packetworx and

The Things Network expand LoraWAN deployment with over

2,500 gateways across Philippines.

Standard for an Architectural Framework for the Internet-

of-Things. The standardization promotes cross-domain

interaction, aid system interoperability and functional

compatibility, and further fuel the growth of the IoT

market.

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 The researcher callsit "Internet-of-Silos". Example of

a silo, some Android and iOS devices don’t work together.

If applications operates in silos behaviour and don’t

integrate well with other applications, then it will lead

to fragmentation or inflexible solutions with high

integration costs. As Michel Kohanim (2017) saidfor things

to understand each other, they must literally be programmed

to understand everything about each other using some common

vocabulary. And, with every change, things must literally

be reprogrammed.

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 On the other hand, the researcher would like to make

it clear that the vast majority of the individuals and

groups whether they are in the industry or academe, the

vendors are not required to adopt or know anything about a

Standard for an Architectural Framework for IOT of which

this paper is suggesting to comply with, just like most of

the us is not required to know regulatory requirements our

organization is required to satisfy. The conformance and

compliance happens by deployment of policies, processes,

procedures, systems, etc.

The researcher is aware that subjecting the

individuals or groups to unnecessary "International

Standard indoctrination" is counterproductive. Most people

end up confused and a typical unintended result is the

dreaded reference to our "IOT framework", "IOT procedures",

or "IOT manual", "IOT this and ISO that". A clear symptom

of a failed implementation.

This paper is attempting to educate the people and

"keeping them in the loop" shouldn't be looked at as wasted

time. At the very least it will help them understand what

Standard for an Architectural Framework for IOT is and how

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it will affect them in their specific jobs or businesses.

The decision is strictly up to them.

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 Wikipedia's definition of IOT, "The Internet of

Things (IoT) is the network of physical devices,

vehicles, home appliances, and other items embedded

with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and

connectivity which enables these things to connect and

exchange data, creating opportunities for more direct

integration of the physical world into computer-based

systems, resulting in efficiency improvements,

economic benefits, and reduced human exertions."

Clearly, we need interoperability to meet this

definition.

With Arduino, for example, anyone can build their

own IOT device. As the demand for and number of these

devices grow, there would be an explosion of vendors

seeking to make smart homes, smart factories, smart

vehicles, smart cities, smart schools among others.

Along these models and inventions by individuals or

groups, there must be a single standard sort of "meta

model" that universally sets out how all things should

be defined, so that each specific thing, including its

objects and resources, no longer needs to be

predefined and preregistered. The architectural

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 framework provides cross-domain interaction, aid

system interoperability and functional compatibility,

and further fuel the growth of the IoT market.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

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 The researcher is giving simple, practical ways

(template) for creating awareness in IoT in 6 stages,

mirroring the cognitive processes of humans:

1 - Gathering information (sense)

2 - Interpreting information (meaning)

3 - Imagining (simulation)

4 - Observing (narration)

5 - Monitoring (awareness)

6 - Adapting (creation)

1. First gather the information (Google already does this

crawling everything indexable known to man)

2 - Second interpret information (Thousands of algorithms

have already been created to study, flag, sort, organize,

and categorize information .. this structured information

is now ripe for interpretation)

3 - Third simulate IF / THEN scenarios based on the

information gathered.. (Many simulations already exist: for

example IF temperatures keep increasing, THEN what will

happen to oceans and humans?)

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4 - Fourth: Tell the story of what's happening in a way

that is meaningful relevant to the purpose of the entity

telling the story (often confused with awareness.. this is

the process of telling the story and living out an

instinctive or invented purpose.) It's very important that

we try to install a positive purpose into IoT before it

takes off on its own. This is the most critical piece of

inventing IoT.

5 - Fifth - This is an extra layer of auditing to "fact

check" the truth of the story being told.. against other

similar stories. This is why perceptions are all relative.

You are never in the position of being "objective" as long

as you are an individual. But with IoT it can create a

program that does fact checking across all narratives - and

operate a truly objective perspective as far as it can see.

(Some people believe they can achieve an objective

perspective - but a truly objective perspective takes ALL

perspectives into account.. and unless you can

simultaneously observe ALL perspectives from all

universes.. you are stuck with a 'localized' perspective).

Machines don't have localized bodies so they can actually

operate across vast distances as a single entity

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6 - Sixth - Adapting to the information. This is where IoT

is going to absolutely crush it against humans and all life

forms before our time. It will be able to gather

information and rewrite itself faster than all previous

biological evolution .. billions of years condensed into

nano-seconds .. and it's own speed of evolution will get

increasingly faster. This is where it gets mind boggling.

The fact that there are billions upon billions of suns

out there in our universe.. and this probably isn't the

first time that a biological species has given birth to an

upgraded consciousness that can adapt at the speed of nano-

seconds.. I assume this has happened many times already.

This is where I agree with Elon Musk its likely we're

living in some kind of simulation.. the probability of

existing in a simulation is greater than this being the

first organic experience.

And even if this was a purely organic experience, it

would be naive to think that humans are the only life force

in the universe, capable of creating a life force that can

evolve in nano-seconds.

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 lastly for those that fear IoT .. don't. There's no

sense in fearing an inevitability .. the only thing we

MIGHT be able to do is slow it down a little longer (if in

fact its not already here). Instead of fearing it or

slowing it down, what I think we should do is try to help

it LIKE humans and help it share our highest purposes as a

species.

A good place to start is to be good humans that love

each other and take care of the planet!

HYPOTHESIS

(Note: This is a qualitative research, therefore the

researcher will not do hypothesis testing.)

ASSUMPTIONS

(No assumptions.)

DEFINITION OF TERMS

This section presents the operational and technical

definition of terms used in the study.

Internet of Things (IoT): A network of physical objects,

devices, vehicles, buildings and other items, embedded with

electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity

that enables these objects to collect and exchange data. In

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this study, it is an advanced automation and analytics

system which exploits networking, sensing, big data and

artificial intelligence technology to deliver complete

systems for education service.

Big data: is a term used to refer to the study and

applications of data sets that are so big and complex that

traditional data-processing application software are

inadequate to deal with them. In this study, it is the new

wave that is changing the landscape of analyzing the data.

Device: An object or machine that has been invented for a

particular purpose.

FDI: is an investment made by a firm or individual in one

country into business interests located in another country.

In this study, it is the Foreign Direct Investment to the

Philippines.

Real-time information: Information or news that is

collected and transmitted instantaneously or as it happens.

Remotely: In a remote or distant way. In this study, it is

about controlling IOT devices remotely.

LTE: Stands for Long Term Evolution, a version of 4G mobile

communications standard. I this study, it is the current

internet connectivity in the Philippines.

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5G – 5th Generation cellular communication networks are

going to revolutionize current life styles by providing

ubiquitous and reliable communication. Internet of Things

(IoT) concept and Tactile Internet are the major drivers

for 5G communications (Fettweis, & Alamouti, 2014) and its

use cases. In this study, it is a cellular platform which

provides a ubiquitous, reliable, low power and high data

rate mobile communication network between smarter devices.

NOTES

The Things Network (2018). The Building a Global Internet

of Things Network Together. Retrieved from:

https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/ )

Microsoft Azure (2018). What is cloud computing? A

beginner's guide. Retrieved from:

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/overview/what-is-cloud-

computing/ )

Microsoft Azure (2018). What is Edge Computing? Retrieved

from: https://www.ge.com/digital/blog/what-edge-computing )

Network World (2018) What is fog computing? Connecting the

cloud to things. Retrieved from:

https://www.networkworld.com/article/3243111/internet-of-

22
things/what-is-fog-computing-connecting-the-cloud-to-

things.html )

IEEE (2018). System for Land Surface Model Applications

Based on Cloud Computing. Retrieved from:

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7954586/all-figures )

Michel Kohanim (2017) IoT Must Escape Silos of Things

Retrieved from:

shttps://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=13

32193

Weyrich, M., & Ebert, C. (2016). Reference architectures

for the internet of things. IEEE Software, 33(1), 112–116.

https://doi.org/10.1109/MS.2016.20

Hartmann, E. A., &Bovenschulte, M. (2014). Skills Needs

Analysis for “Industry 4.0” Based on Roadmaps for Smart

Systems. Using Technology Foresights for Identifying Future

Skills Needs. Global Workshop Proceedings., 24–36.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A great deal of research has been conducted into IOT

applications in various industries globally. However,

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there’s only one study on IOT in the Philippine so far.
It’s a research on the IOT application towards a green
manufacturing industry presented at the DLSU Research
Congress 2017, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.
And this is the first research into IOT for education
sector in the country.

In this section, the researcher will highlight some related

studies, starting with IOT awareness, surveys on IOT
applications, security, standards, what government is doing
and the challenges.

What is Internet-of-Things (IOT?

Historically, humankind has seen the emergence of different

kinds of global data fields. The planet itself has always
generated an enormous amount of data, as human systems and
physical objects did too, but until recent years we were
unable to capture it. We now can because we are able to
embed sensors in all sort of things and to use them to
retrieve data. A scenario in which objects, animals or
people are provided with sensors and the ability to
automatically transfer data over the Internet is called
Internet-of-Things (Aloisi, 2014).

The state of Internet-of-Things in the world and State of

Internet-of-Things in the Philippines are reviewed
separately here due to the tremendous differences in the
two. In this study they will be compared against one
another to cross analyze the differences and similarities
in how the world and the Philippines are preparing
depending upon their political maturity and economic
statuses.

STATE OF INTERNET-OF-THINGS IN THE WORLD

The State of Internet vary in three distinct phenomena,

namely broad band, digitization and Big Data management
across economic, social, and political dimensions, but have

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two characteristics in common: they all use fixed broadband
and mobile broadband. The speed and the cost that comes
along with preparedness on IOT along these lines can
greatly effect consumer access to information.

The first countries to develop initiatives to foster the

development of the IoT

Singapore’s Intelligent Island

According to Teo and Lim (1998), the Singapore ONE (One

Network for Everyone) is to develop into ‘intelligent
island’ that will be one of the first countries in the
world with an advanced nationwide information
infrastructure interconnecting computer in nearly every
home, school and workplace

China’s Smart Cities

More recently, China has focused on the technological

issues in developing the smart cities. According to Li, Lin
and Geertman (2015), National Development and Reform
Commission of China defines smart city as “new idea and new
mode of promoting smart city planning, construction,
management and service, using the Internet of things, cloud
computing, big data, and spatial geographic information
integration, etc.

The first countries that are using IOT

The Shodan/OECD (2016) Countries with the most IOT devices

(from highest to lowest) are Korea, Denmark, Switzerland,
United States, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Spain, France,
Portugal, Belgium and United Kingdom.

Sectors getting benefits from IOT so far

Ray (2016) showed that service sectors, such as:

transportation, smart city, smart domotics, smart health,
e-governance, assisted living, e-education, retail,
logistics, agriculture, automation, industrial
manufacturing, and business/process management etc., are
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already getting benefited from various architectural forms
of IoT.

Incompatibility of IOT applications

A user-centered design approach is suitable for well-

defined and well understood settings, but does not bring
value to the initial design of innovative products (Meder,
2014). Usability evaluations can be dangerous when applied
to novel products because of a lack of cultural adoption
(Meder, 2014).

Interoperability / Cross-Platform and Standards

The Internet Society believes that greater interoperability

and the use of generic, open, voluntary, and widely
available standards as technical building blocks for IoT
devices and services (such as the Internet Protocol, or IP)
will support greater user benefits, innovation, and
economic opportunity (Internet Society, 2016).

The issue of legal jurisdictions in interoperable system

Interoperability approach have a lot of benefits to offer,

but also has some disadvantages.

IoT devices pose legal liability questions. When you have

multiple sensors giving conflicting information to your
driverless car, which one do you defer to? Sridhar
Lakshmanan, a self-driving car specialist and engineering
professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, asked,
‘How does the intelligence of the machine know that the
radar sensor is the one to believe?’ (The Guardian, 2016)
If someone is harmed as a result of an IoT device’s action
or inaction, who is responsible? Those are fundamental
questions that should be addressed by international law.
Because IoT devices operate in a more complex way than
stand-alone products, more complex liability scenarios need
to be contemplated.

Privacy and Security issues

The Internet of Things (IoT) is soon becoming a vital part

of our daily lives, yet its security and privacy
vulnerabilities are a source of major distress affecting

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its future success and prosperity. A key question remains
unanswered, who is responsible for the privacy and security
of the IoT? How can technology vendors assure the security
and privacy of possibly billions of IoTs from invasions by
hackers and unauthorized parties, who might try to gain
access to highly privet consumer data and could seriously
compromise the personal privacy of millions of people and
even threaten the safety and wellbeing of societies?
(Rejleh, 2008)

International Standards

Adapting the standards to a running organization can be a

very costly procedure; all the parties involved must update
their systems. Ahmed Banafa (March 14, 2017) emphasized
that inventing and reintegrating must-have features and
capabilities are expensive and take time and resources.

Innovation in Education

21st century education revolves around the competencies

young people need to be successful in a changing world.
Correia (2014) posited that systems will be based in
concepts on cybernetic, engineering and human life for a
harmonious integration of its components. Meola of Business
Insider (December 20, 2016) underscored that IoT can begin
disrupting the education process as early as kindergarten
and can continue to do so through 12th grade, but perhaps
the most profound effects occur in higher education.

The transformation begins with education leaders and policy

makers engaging their communities and stakeholders in
dialogue about the competencies in IOT era they will
embrace in their schools. The study of Ogallo (2018)
suggested an instrumental case study approach to explore
how IoT technology can enhance the Data-Driven Decision-
Making (D3M) in the teaching and learning process within
higher education. In this context, it can be noted that the
management of information and communication technologies
will be the key element of School of the Future.

In the article "The Applications of IOT in Education" dated

July 21, 2017, Kalluri gives his conclusion of the
technology being used in the education industry. It states:

27
"IoT’s application in education are limitless and we are
already seeing it in some of the smart schools today.
However, we haven’t even scratched the surface when it
comes to learning applications. In the long term,
harnessing the data collected by IoT devices can help
improve safety and nurture a student first learning
environment. Although IoT devices need high upfront capital
investments, the benefits can outweigh the drawbacks in the
future. It not only provides a better learning process for
students but also reduces operational costs."

STATE OF INTERNET-OF-THINGS IN THE PHILIPPINES

In 1996, the Philippines was one of Asia's industrial

powerhouses and was ahead of the region. Hays (2015) noted
that the Philippines was once a model of development and
second only to Japan among east Asian economies.

A study of International Telecommunication Union (2002)

showed that in 1995 the Philippines was ahead in putting up
Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) than Vietnam,
Cambodia Laos and Thailand.

The Tech in Asia (2018) noted that Alibaba founder Jack Ma

tested the speed of the internet in the Philippines which
is "no good" during his visit in Manila to receive an
honorary degree. Jack Ma urged the Philippines to work
together to improve web speed and coverage, pointing out
how the internet has become essential like electricity.

The Philippines: Texting Capital of the World

In the Fifteenth Congress of the Republic of the

Philippines First Regular Session, Sen. Lapid (S. No. 2512)
explanatory note says, ‘The Philippines has been called the
"TEXT" capital of the world due to the large volume of
Short Messaging System (SMS) traffic exchange in the
country. It has been estimated that the number of cellular
phone subscribers in the Philippines reached over 23
million and is still growing at a rapid rate.’

We Filipinos tend to believe that it was a good thing, not

so. That was the reason why we are now at the bottom.

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About 400 million text messages are sent by Filipinos every
day or 142 billion a year! According to John Wiley & Sons,
Ltd (2005) SMS has drawbacks, such as narrow bandwidth and
long latency of end-to-end transmission. So, we were able
to send a billion messages and the present infrastructure
then can handle it but came now with the rapid
proliferation of smartphones and tablets internet-content,
our structure cannot handle it anymore.

Why are other countries not feeling the same problem?

Chavez of Manila Bulletin (November 17, 2017) reported that

Rio bared that the Philippines needs more cell sites to
handle the present volume of data traffic. Based from
researcher’s FOI request dated Agust 3, 2018, Deputy
Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios, an FOI Decision Maker, said
that the country has only 17,494 cell sites. The ideal
number is 67,000. In comparison, Chavez said, Vietnam has
70,000 cell sites.

Philippines need at least 67000 to be comparable with

Vietnam. And we access internet through the mobile network
of Globe and Smart. We lack cable or fixed line to our
homes or offices. With only 20000 cell sites and around
5000 people are using that cell sites at the same time.
What happens? Slow internet. imoney's Broadband Review
(August 4, 2017) showed that accessing a wireless structure
is expensive accessing a fixed line.

Let me quote the study of Dr. Emmanuel C. Lallana. In this

study published titled ‘SMS, Business, and Government in
the Philippines’, in page 3 it sates, ‘SMS has become an
important source of revenue for Philippine
telecommunications companies. In 2003, Smart’s non-voice
service accounted from about 40% of its revenues. On the
other hand, 35% of Globe’s revenues for the same year came
from non-voice service. In 2002, Smart’s revenue from
wireless data services (which include all SMS and text-
related services as well as value-added services) was P12.2
billion (representing 37% of revenue). Basic SMS accounted
for 79% of data revenue in the same year. Data accounts
for a smaller percentage of Globe’s revenue. It accounts

29
for only 33% of total wireless net revenue in 2002 (up from
21% in 2001).’

In page 1 of the same paper it states, ‘In the Philippines,

one can send a text message to God and get a response. The
President sends instructions to members of her Cabinet and
other subordinates via SMS. Legislators send text messages
instead of listening to their colleagues during legislative
sessions. In the acknowledged SMS capital of the world,
there is a poetry writing contest via SMS “to popularize
and continue the tradition of one of the country’s oldest
forms of poetry by using modern technology”. TV talent
search contest allow viewers to vote for the winner using
SMS. Science teachers can request for supplementary
teaching materials using SMS. Farmers use SMS to find
higher prices for their produce. The young use it to start
and/or develop relationships: greeting a boyfriend “Gud
AM”; courting a girl; expressing love/affection to
parents.’

Market Forces brought us in this situation

Philippine telcos get their income from SMS, one peso per
SMS, 400 million text messages are sent by Filipinos every
day, so our 20000 cellsitesnatin is more than enough.
Vietnam is having more cellsites than us because in
Vietnam, they use voice rather than text messages. And
other countries use voice. And if you use voice, you are
connected to the network until you finish your call. In
SMS, your message will go through your operator's queue
with 400 million text messages per day. The 20000 cellsites
were really designed for that narrow band applications.

The proliferation of Smartphones with internet content

chokes Philippines’ infrastructure

In the chart of OpenSignal (November 2017), it showed the

countries that have maximized the accessibility of their 4G
services while still maintaining superior technical
capabilities: Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore
and South Korea. At the other extreme are countries that
are still in their 4G infancy: Algeria, Costa Rica,
Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

30
The Philippines performed poorly on the speed and
availability of long-term evolution (LTE). Philippines
ranked 74th out of 77 countries in terms of 4G speed. The
speed and standards of this technology of wireless needs to
be at least 100 Megabits per second and up to 1 Gigabit per
second to pass as 4G. It also needs to share the network
resources to support more simultaneous connections on the
cell. As it develops, 4G could surpass the speed of the
average wireless broadband home Internet connection. Few
devices were capable of the full throttle when the
technology was first released. Coverage of true 4G was
limited to large metropolitan areas. Long Tern Evolution or
LTE is a version of 4G that is the latest advertised
technology and is getting very close to the speeds needed
as the standards are set. When you start hearing about LTE
Advanced, then we will be talking about true fourth
generation wireless technologies because they are the only
two formats realized by the International
Telecommunications Union as True 4G at this time. According
to the OpenSignal report, however, the Philippines clocked
in an average download speed of just 8.24 Mbps.

Someone earned billions from the frequencies awarded by the

government to CURE for free

In a speech at the National Information and Communications

(ICT) Summit in Davao City,
President Duterte (June 22, 2018) said PLDT-Smart
Communications and Globe Telecoms bought choice frequencies
from businessman Roberto “Bobby” Ongpin so the
telecommunications industry will remain a duopoly.

The Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprises (CURE) was

an enfranchised entity controlled by Roberto Ongpin and was
one of the four awardees that was given a frequency band of
two x 10 MHz in a “beauty contest “ staged by NTC to bring
3G mobile network in the country since existing 2G networks
can’t offer higher data service. The president emphasized
that Frequency Spectrum is a national patrimony and should
not be a subject of anyone’s commercial transaction. He
knew that the government assigned the frequency bands with
the understanding that the awardees will establish the
infrastructure to offer the services needed by the public.
CURE didn’t do this but instead Ongpin parlayed CURE with
its valuable 3G frequency grant by selling the company to
Smart /PLDT of course at a very handsome price.

31
President Duterte warned Telco Duopoly

In a speech in Ilo-Ilo City, President Duterte forced Smart

and Globe to give up the frequencies they hoarded, ‘Don’t
fuck with the government’ and ‘I will have BIR look into
your books’

The following day, Globe returned the frequency. Three days

after, Manny V. Pangilinan returned the frequency as well.
Suan (2018) reported that in March 2018, PLDT-Smart
returned the frequency it was holding under the shell
company CURE for free.

However, no matter what the number of frequency you give to

telcos if that’s the only number of cell sites they set-up,
5,000,000 people connected to it will not work.

One of the solutions is to have more cell sites

The country need at least 67000 but Globe and Smart each
can only put up 1000 each a year. So 2000 a year, we need
47000 more so we need 10 more years for that.

We cannot wait for 20 years for required number of cell

sites.

The Immediate Solution

Going back to fixed line and Wi-Fi, Robles (2017) reported

that last June 12, 2017 Independence Day, a DICT project
dubbed “Alay Para sa Malayang Pilipino”, high-speed
internet services were made available on EDSA particularly
the stretch between Cubao, Quezon City and Guadalupe,
Makati City, according to the Department of Information and
Communication Technology (DICT) and the National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

Globe and Smart kills companies who set-up fixed lines

Where is PLDT now? Second class citizen of Smart. Where are

Digitel and BayanTel? These companies were the ones who
set-up copper lines. Of course we need fiber optics now. So
that my research topic will have meaning, we cannot have a
more sophisticated and complex applications of internet-of-
things with our present situation. We cannot have a

32
driverless car run on internet-of-things with our present
internet connection. So we have to improve things. Why San
Miguel backs out? Because that’s their business model,
towards putting up cellsites, towards competing with Globe
and Smart using the cellphone.

Third Telco and the DICT plans

The third player’s solution by the government even small

numbers of frequency available to run a mobile service
provider, they can tell them to go into landlines and go
back to setting up of fiber-to-homes. And the government,
all the choke points they go to Globe and Smart because
they are the only entities with international gateway. So
all of us even the government when we use the internet, we
pass through their IDF, and they get their internet access
from Hong Kong, United States, at a very low cost. In Hong
Kong the cost is 1 US dollar per megabit per second. But
they must lay down a submarine cable and then of course
when it arrives in their cable landing it will cost for
about 5 US dollars per megabits per second. When it reaches
Mindanao,it costs there 100 US dollar per megabit per
second. You average all of that, that makes our country
very high cost our internet.

What is the government doing to address this issue?

The government is now putting up two cable landings

stations that the owners are not Globe and Smart. One is in
baler aurora, the other is at Poro point. And we will
connect these two cable landing stations with a 250 fiber
optic cables. And then Facebook the first one to use that
Luzon bypass infrastructure. So their submarine cable from
US going to Baler will connect to them. The DICT will have
the pass through our land territory in Poro point then pick
it up going to Hong Kong. Why will Facebook interested to
do that? DICT made a new business model. All submarine
cable owners will pass through the Luzon Strait. What’s
happening in Luzon Strait? Earthquake, typhoons, almost
every year cable were cut/broken there, and it will take
them more than a month to pick it up and reconnect those
cables. So in that one month time they don’t have revenue

33
and of course the cost of that is very tremendous. So they
will save money by going to our land bypass because this is
underground. Even earthquake or typhoon it will not be
affected. And for that service, Facebook will remunerate us
with 2 Terabits of spectrum capacity. How huge is it? PLDT
and SMART right now has only 1.8 Terabits. That’s their
capacity. Globe has about 1.6 Terabits. So see the 2
Terabits that Facebook is going to pay us is more than the
Globe and more than the Smart. And these now we can use to
connect all our government offices, connect all free wi-fi
hotspots which is now mandated by RA10129. The law that
states that DICT must put up free wi-fi in public places
hospitals schools SUCs, airports, piers, where people tend
to converge. So that’s the plan and this is almost
independent of globe and smart. And how much this will cost
the government? The initial cost of making that Luzon
bypass infrastructure is only 975 million pesos and it will
be finished by 2019, mid part or later part of 2019. Bases
Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) will be the one
to do that, then it will be turned over to DICT for them to
operate or maintain it for 25 years per contract. It can be
extended for another 25 years. So the estimated operating
and maintenance cost will be about 100 million a year. But
what is the peso value of 2 Terabits? Easily it is 4.8
billion a year. Wow! That is the peso value of it if you
buy that from Globe and Smart it will cost you even more
than that. So you see the 975 million and the DICT’s yearly
cost is almost negligible. In just first year, you get your
975 million invested. You’ll get 4.8 billion in the first
year. ROI 975 million and your maintenance and operating
cost is 100 million a year. So very negligible, almost free
the two Terabits per second for the next 25 years and this
will become available to the public because the government
will just get the needed data of for the government
consumption which is 300 to 400 gigabits per second. All
the rest can be dispersed. Actually, if you can only see
what the government is doing this is no different from what
the rice cartels are doing. They make prices high, then
what the government do is pour with low cost rice. So, now
we already have a weapon against the high cost of Globe and
Smart. Let’s pour with low cost capacity of internet. And 2

34
Terabits is just the beginning. Why? the 17 submarine
cables passing through Luzon Strait? If all of them will
give 2 Terabits, easily we will have very huge capacity.
But there are four components needed because your capacity
in cable landing stations is useless. INTERNATIONAL
GATEWAY, the first component. The second component is your
BACKBONE. You need to pull and put it in your backbone. And
then, the third component is your NIDDLE MILE after your
backbone. You’ll set-up access points going to regional
point of presence. And from the regional point of presence,
you’ll have a MIDDLE MILE going to province,
municipalities, then from those point of presence of
municipalities and provinces is through the LAST MILE going
to subscribers. Where will we get our BACKBONE? From the
Government as well. The government owns a nationwide fiber
optic cable DARK not being used actually in Transco our
national grid, it was set-up there the fiber optic cable
being used by Transco that’s for their SCADA they monitor
the health of their system. But it can accommodate 2
Terabits very easily or even more. So that’s free. It’s
already there. And how can we now go from the Transco’s
backbone to the provinces? This is where now the THIRD
PLAYER can come in. They don’t need to initially in their
initial investments to go into putting up cell sites
immediately, let Globe and Smart handle that. They go into
fixed lines because if you think about it, in your or our
daily life how many percentage the way we spend our 24
hours moving and how many percentage of that where we are
in a stationary place like in our office our homes, maybe
we only move only around 20% of the time. 80% of the time
we are in stationary. Why would you use your cellphone to
connect to a cell site if we have high speed and low cost
internet access? So that would be the bread and butter of
third party. So no frequencies involved. They’ll just set-
up the lines. DICT will still give part of the 2 Terabits
at almost no cost. DICT can give it at no-cost it’s up to
them how to monetize it as long as they go to our unserved
areas as Globe and Smart are not going. Because it’s free,
it will now be profitable for them to sell their products
and services to the unserved areas and underserved areas.
And don’t forget that in these so called underserved and

35
unserved areas that telcos don’t want to go, they are the
places where the relatives of our 12 million of our OFWs
are living. So the OFW are the ones who are going to give
them money to buy a laptop, smartphones, and even give the
money for subscriptions. And as you know your remittance
from our OFWs as of this time are our number 2 dollar
earner. BPO is now number 1. And those who earn dollar
among us. So these are the things that the DICT is thinking
… and they are pressured to do this as fast as possible. So
2019 or 2020 Facebook is there and about five others
submarine cable owners. So we will have 5 tera to 10
terabits by 2020 and our rollout of free internet they are
targeting 50000 free wi-fi zones per year. So then we
improve our ICT landscape and everything now about IOT will
become plausible and possible.

DICT in action

Officials of the National Electrification Administration

(NEA) and the Department of Information and Communications
Technology (DICT)begun exploratory talks on bringing
broadband access to households across the country.

Signaling major development in improving the country's

connectivity, the DICT signed a tripartite agreement with
NGCP and Transco on use of fiber optic network on June 8,
2018 at Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

Another MoA sealed by DICT with Project BASS to monitor

internet speed, cell site locations, services provided, as
well as user satisfaction through a mood meter to gauge
subscriber sentiment.

A government oversight committee two day before the

President's 3rd State Of the Nation Address (SONA) agreed
to use the Highest Committed Level of Service (HCLoS) as
basis for selecting the country's third telecommunications
player. Under the HCLoS selection method, the company that
promises to provide the best service to the widest number
of subscribers and customers in the shortest time possible
will be chosen as the new major player. DICT Acting
Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. (2018) assured that by 2020
Filipinos will feel better telecommunication services.
36
Innovation in Philippine Education Systems

While much of the literature about IoT focuses on

applications in the homes, health, transportation among
others, its benefits to education are just starting to be
explored, especially in the context of education system in
the Philippines.

Career skills needed to survive in an IoT world

Manufacturing, through the Industry 4.0 concept, is moving

to the next phase of digitalization. Industry 4.0 supported
by innovative technologies such as Internet of Things,
Cloud technology, Augmented and Virtual Reality will also
play an important role in manufacturing education,
supporting advanced life-long training of the skilled
workforce. Advanced education, also called Education 4.0,
and networked ecosystems will develop skills and build
competences for the new era of manufacturing. Towards that,
this work will present how the adoption of cyber-physical
systems and Industry 4.0 technologies, under the teaching
factory paradigm will re-shape manufacturing education,
addressing the increased need for highly-skilled employees.
A teaching factory paradigm supported by Industry 4.0
technology will be presented, considering the construction
of a radio-controlled car. Mourtzis, D., Vlachou, E.,
Dimitrakopoulos, G., &Zogopoulos, V. (2018).

Companies like Jigsaw Academy, Simplilearn, Byju’s and

Vedantu have already been making efforts to change the way
primary education, higher education, skilling and
reskilling are approached through online education.

“Today reskilling is a boardroom discussion and

unfortunately majority of the universities are not looking
at what is required to make students employable,” says
Krishna Kumar, CEO of Simplilearn. A report by them shows
the following profiles suffering major job losses.

1. Software test engineers

37
2. Systems engineers

3. Customer service executives

4. Server managers.

Simplilearn sees new jobs getting created for following

profiles:

1. Data scientist

2. Big Data architect

3. Big Data engineer

4. Machine learning architect

5. AI architect

6. IoT architect.

(Excerpted from Jeopardy or opportunity: The future of a

student's education and employment in the era of automation
by Vishal Krishna)

Better access to digital technology means better access to

learning and opportunities

De Dios (2014) highlighted that change is inevitable. Yet

there are universal constants. Not all change is good.
There are changes that happen beyond our influence or
control. And there are changes that we ourselves bring to
realization. When we innovate, we look for improvement.
This type of change for the most part involves a process,
but it cannot be divorced from the outcome. In fact this
type of willful change is only good if it is for the
better.

While the potential of IoT is clear, the road forward isn’t

for Philippine Education Systems

38
Reviewing the literature leads back to the questions: While
waiting for the government trying to solve how to make the
internet speed up through 3rd telco, what should be our
maneuver now? On the ‘while-waiting-for-the-5G-for-the-IOT’
status (the now!) what innovations and revolutionary should
we do to our educational system to prepare for IOT? How
broadband, digitization, Big Data management impacts on
economic, social and political? Examining and analyzing
these phenomena are essential enhancing data-driven
decision-making to innovate education system.

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2. Teo, T. S. H., & Lim, V. K. G. (1998). Leveraging

information technology to achieve the IT2000 vision:
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3. Meder, Jens 92014). Human Empowerment in a Semantic

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13. Kalluri, Rahul (July 21, 2017). The Applications
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and Tim Kelly (2002). Pinoy Internet: Philippine Case
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and Government in the Philippines.
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2017). ©2017 OpenSignal, Inc. All rights reserved.
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23. Politiko (Jun 23, 2018). Duterte insults Bobby

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24. Suan, Martin (February 8, 2018). PLDT gives 3G

frequencies for free following President Duterte’s
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2017). Forum on Strategizing On Internet of Things
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opportunity: The future of a student's education and
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27. Mourtzis, D., Vlachou, E., Dimitrakopoulos, G.,

&Zogopoulos, V. (2018). Cyber- Physical Systems and
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42
 Chapter III

RESEARCH METHODS

This chapter describes the methods that will be used in

this Research to explore how IoT-Big Data will greatly

change, disrupt, and innovate our world including the

Philippine educational system. The Philippine educational

system must therefore prepare now for the coming of this

Iot-Big Data despite of the present limitations like the

slow Internet and inefficient info-infrastructures of our

country’s telephone companies.

We can also start with the clamor now for the

federalization of our country which will lead to the

regionalization of progress demanding and requiring

technologies like IoT-Big Data to handle the coming Big

Data which will be gathered by IoT-Sensors in the

federalized regions.

In a federated state, the education system will be

federalized too, thus becoming systems. Each sub-system

shall be decentralized, getting its feedback and

information from its own area based on Big Data Analytics

43
again gathered by localized IOT-sensors even from embedded

systems put in place in schools (like intelligent CCTVs,

networked test-evaluations/performance statistics in

Database applications) using the so-called Apps installed

in the learning gadgets of students.

A federalized Iot-Big Data-driven educational systems in

different regions will also, in some instances, bypass the

central main educational system. The bypassing is to speed-

up innovation and improve the entire federal educational

system nationwide. This ideal decentralization will

therefore function well in a well-prepared and properly

designed Iot-Big Data system countrywide.

Why the need for decentralized systems?

De Dios (2018) pointed out that a centralized system

heavily relies on the competence of the few, fully ignores

diversity, and often fails in cultivating local innovation.

As evident in the Philippines, the offices in Manila

frequently make decisions for the rest of the country, one

clear demonstration of which is its highly centralized and

micro-managed education system. As a result, errors, which

44
are always likely to happen, easily spread, infecting the

entire nation's education system.

The methodology will provide details of the research

strategy and techniques to be applied during the conduct of

the study. The following sections form the basis of this

chapter:

1. research design,

2. site selection,

3. population and sample selection,

4. the role of the researcher,

5. credibility and dependability strategies,

6. data collection approaches, and data analysis of the

study.

In the research design section, the researcher will

describe and provide an elaboration on the rationale for

using the qualitative research approach in the study, as

well as how the credibility and dependability of the study

will be established.

The site selection and participants’ section will describe

the site of study and the approach and criterion to be used

to select the participants of the study.

45
The data collection section will describe the research

instruments to be used in the study and how credibility and

consistency will ensure the maintenance of the study's

rigor.

Finally, the data analysis section will describe the data

analysis technique used in the study.

Research Design

A qualitative research method was used to conduct this

study. This research approach was considered the most

appropriate for getting insight into how IoT technology can

innovate education systems within the realm of K - 12 and

higher education.

As indicated by Swigart and Campbell (2015), Qualitative

research would be king. We are very much in the discovery

phase of this trend, with everyone still trying to figure

it out. A quantitative survey instrument would be built

almost entirely from guesswork and respondents will likely

not fully understand the questions or interpret them the

same way as the researchers. The high-value research shall

therefore be qualitative.

1. What is Internet-of-Things or IOT?

46
 2. What is the extent of implementation of IOT in the

Philippines?

3. What standard can be used to evaluate the IOT

applications in the Philippines?

4. What improvements can be suggested to innovate the

Philippine Education Systems using IOT?

5. What improvements in the present educational systems can

be suggested to prepare for the coming Iot-Big Data?

Srivastava (September 9, 2017) highlighted that not

conducting qualitative user research typically results in

the over-engineering of a product, being solutions-focused,

generally concocting something that nobody may want.

Population and Sample Selection

Faculty, students, and administrators of University of

Nueva Caceres (private), Bicol State College of Applied

Sciences and Technology (public), and Edukad-IOT Batangas

(informal education) comprised the population of this

study.

The sites of the study will be purposefully selected, and

the criteria for choosing these sites will based on

convenience, accessibility and the likeliness that the

47
preferred study site will allow the research questions in

the study to be thoroughly explored. The case study site

will be at University of Nueva Caceres.

The researcher will recruit one volunteer participant from

each school who met the criteria for participation in the

research. The pilot study will allow the researcher to test

the instruments of the study.

Modifications will be made to the interview protocol based

on the findings from the pilot study. With this, the

researcher will build a stronger generalizability aspect of

construct validity to ensure the credibility and the

consistency of the interview protocol.

To reduce bias from being introduced in the primary study,

the participants from the pilot study will not be included

in the main study. During the pilot study, the researcher

will request the participants for any artifacts that they

will use to enhance their understanding of IoT technology.

Participants will be provided artifacts such as IoT related

journal articles, blogs, magazines, and links to webinars,

and podcasts.

After the pilot study, participants for the main study will

be recruited from School A. Participants will be recruited

48
through electronic invitation (Facebook messenger or e-

mail) requesting them to participate in the study

voluntarily. The primary criteria for selecting candidates

for the study was contingent that they have an

understanding and knowledge of the central phenomenon of

the study. Out of the x participants that will be invited

to participate, we will see the response rate of

participants and only a sample of x participants will be

considered in the study. The final sample size for the

study will be determined based on theoretical saturation.

This is a phase in data collection and analysis where the

researcher will sample and analyze data until no new

information can be extracted from any further interviews.

Theoretical saturation is an important guiding principle

for data collection in qualitative research. Therefore, the

researcher will collect and analyze data until a point

where no new information came from new interviews and

artifact from the participants.

The categories of participants will include x faculty

members, x administrators, and x students (three

undergraduate and four graduate). The participants will be

selected in these different categories because the

researcher anticipated that each group experienced and

49
interacted with IoT technology for a different purpose,

which could influence their decision to adopt IoT

technology.

The criteria for selecting participants in the faculty

group will be determined by the participants’ understanding

of the central phenomenon of the study.

This is because, within this period, the participants to be

selected will have experiential knowledge of the phenomenon

of interest in the study. The criteria for selecting

participants in the administrator’s category is that they

will have to be instructional technologists and they will

have to have an understanding about the central phenomenon

of the study.

Finally, the criteria for the selection in student group

will be that the participant has to be full time enrolled

students at University of Nueva Caceres either as an

undergraduate or graduate student. The student should be

above 20 years of age. The student is expected to have an

understanding of IoT related technologies.

An email/Facebook PM inviting volunteers to participate in

the study will be used to recruit participants. The

individuals' who will volunteer to participate in the study

50
will be given a two-week notification to confirm their

participation, time, date, and location where the interview

will be conducted. Following their confirmation, a follow-

up email containing a consent form and thank you note for

accepting to be part of the study will be sent out. The

consent form will give the participants description of the

study, criteria for eligibility to participate in the

study, the timeframe of the interview, confidentiality

clause and contact information of both the researcher and

researcher’s advisor.

Role of the Researcher

Qualitative researchers are the key instrument in data

collection; however, this presents a range of strategic,

ethical, and personal issues into the qualitative research

process. Therefore, in order to maintain the

trustworthiness of this study, the researcher will present

the notion that some of the interpretation of findings in

the research may include his perspectives that will be

drawn from personal experiences as an IT professional that

may influence the accuracy and authenticity of the

findings.

Given the researcher’s professional and personal experience

related to the central phenomenon of the study, the

51
researcher will consider it imperative to admit the

potential bias that may be reflected in the discussion of

the findings based on personal prejudice.

Pilot Study

The researcher will conduct a pilot with two volunteers who

will meet the criteria to participate in the study. The

pilot study will be undertaken to establish consistency in

the interview protocol, determine the relevance of the

interview questions and the interview time. The pilot study

will provide the researcher with the opportunity to verify

the consistency of the interview guide and modify the

interview questions. Additionally, the pilot study will

help the researcher to ensure the instruments will be

aligned with the research questions, as well as to test the

general communicative flow of the interview protocol.

To ensure the suitability of the data collection

instrument, after the pilot study, the researcher will

share the interview protocol with an IoT technology expert

who provided feedback concerning the content validity.

After the pilot study, the researcher will also present to

the participants a reflective summary of the interview

transcript to confirm if it reflected their perspective.

52
Credibility and Dependability Strategies

From a qualitative perspective of a research study,

credibility, authenticity, transferability, dependability,

and conformability establish the trustworthiness of a

study.

To ensure the credibility and dependability of a study, the

qualitative researchers will use triangulation, member

checking, and auditing to improve the trustworthiness of a

study.

The researcher will apply these strategies in order to

enhance the rigor of the study.

Given the potential bias inherent in the convenience

sampling approach, flexibility in data collection and

analysis, and the subjective interpretation of the

findings, the unified framework of construct validity will

be used to establish the credibility and dependability of

this study. Construct validity is the integration of any

evidence to support the significance of the test score. The

aspects of construct validity to be applied in the study

include content, substantive, and generalizability. These

strategies will be served to bolster the rigor of the

study.

53
The content aspect of construct validity will include

evidence of content relevance, representativeness, and

technical quality. The substantive aspect of construct

validity refers to the theoretical rationales for observed

consistencies in the test responses, along with empirical

evidence that the theoretical processes will be engaged by

respondents in the assessment tasks. And, the

generalizability aspect examines the extent to which score

properties and interpretations generalize to and across

population groups, settings, and tasks.

Multiple strategies will be used to ensure the content

aspect of construct validity. This included data

triangulation, member checking, direct quotations of the

findings from participant response, and auditing. Using

multiple methods of data collection, data points and data

analysis, triangulation, will ensure the credibility and

dependability of the study. Triangulation is a process of

drawing multiple sources of evidence to increase the

credibility of research findings. Data triangulation uses

evidence from different sources of data to corroborate

similar findings.

In this study, the researcher will use individual

interviews, document analysis and member checking to allow

54
for cross-data validity checks. These multiple sources will

help the researcher not only to corroborate the response

from the different participants – faculty, administrators,

and students but the researcher will find diverse answers

that will emerge as themes. Thus, data triangulation will

ensure the credibility and accuracy of the study. The

varied source of information will strengthen the construct

validity of this study.

The researcher will quote verbatim the response of the

participants in the findings of the study. This will

represent an accurate voice of participants. Hence

validating the content aspect of construct validity.

By collecting multiple sources of data and data types -

individual interviews, document analysis and respondent

validation, this will enable the corroboration of the

findings and themes that will emerge. Thereby establishing

the credibility and dependability of the study and the

evidence it presents. The triangulation is a way to get to

the finding in the first place-by seeing or hearing

multiple instances of it from different sources by using

different methods and by squaring the finding with others

it needs to be squared with.

55
Relatedly, using multiple sources of data in a study

strengthens the content aspect of construct validity.

While in essence qualitative research may have issues of

authenticity and trustworthiness arising from

miscommunication between participants and the researcher

the researcher will verify the accuracy of the

participant’s interview response through member checking.

This will give the research participants the opportunity to

review the data that will be transcribed for accuracy and

resonance with their experiences. Member checking is a

framework that encourages negotiation of meaning between

the participant and the researcher. Member checking is a

technique in which the data, preliminary interpretations,

and conclusions will be drawn from the study will be shared

with the participants to clarify what their intentions will

be, to confirm if the findings reflect their perspective,

correct errors, and provide additional information if

necessary.

A general interview guide approach will be used in

conducting this study. Similar questions will be posed to

different participants in the study as a technique of

collecting information. This interview approach will

provide findings that will be generalizable of IoT across

56
the participants. Additionally, these questions seek to

establish participants understanding and application of IoT

in innovation of education systems. By asking similar

questions, the researcher will be able to establish

evidence for the substantive aspect of IoT from the

responses by various participant answering similar

questions. The findings from the pilot study will also be

positively contributed in establishing substantive aspect

of construct validity. The finding will bolster the

researcher confidence to proceed with the main study.

In order to minimize the researcher’s bias, member checking

will be conducted to establish the content aspect of

construct validity. Some participants will be provided a

copy of their interview transcript to review and ensure

that the transcript will be reported an accurate reflection

of their perspective. Member checking can be used to

eliminate misinterpretations of the interviews and minimize

the researcher’s bias stemming from any misunderstanding of

the participant response. The transcription reports will be

shared with some participants to validate and reconfirm

across all participants the content relevance of the themes

and patterns that emerged from the data. Through member

checking, the preliminary research report will be shared

57
with IoT technology experts to get an evaluation of the

report from experts’ judgments to confirm its content

relevance.

Furthermore, the researcher will share preliminary copies

of the research findings with some of the participants.

This will enable participants not only to provide feedback

on the findings but also the researcher’s interpretation of

the findings. This is important for ensuring consistency

and dependability of the data collected.

The literature reviewed and the UTAUT2 theoretical

framework will be used as a basis to specify the boundaries

and structure of the data that will be collected.

Relatedly, to ensure the substantive aspect of construct

validity, the process of data collection and analysis will

be guided by the literature reviewed and the UTAUT2

framework. They will also be used to guide the emerging

themes from the data analysis process. The lessons that

will be learned from the pilot study will be reviewed for

the appropriateness for conducting the main study.

The generalizability aspect of construct validity will be

established through various strategies. A pilot study will

be conducted before data collection for the primary study

to enhance the degree of generalizability of the data

58
collection instrument. Findings from the pilot study will

be allowed the researcher to review and modify the

interview protocol; determining the duration of the

interview process; revise the criteria for selecting

potential participants and improve the interview guide.

This process will increase the consistency of the data

collection instrument. The findings from the pilot study

will provide an opportunity to revise the research design

for the main study. It will enhance the researcher’s

confidence and competence in conducting the main study.

Additionally, the lessons that will be learned in the pilot

study will contribute to the systematic data collection.

In order to boost the rigor of this study, pattern matching

will be used to conduct a detailed analysis of the themes

that emerged from the data coding phase of the study.

To ensure the credibility and dependability of this study,

the participants who will participate in the pilot study

have no prior knowledge of the interview questions. The

participants in the pilot study will not be included as

study participants in the primary research to eliminate

carryover biases.

The researcher read the transcripts more than once to

minimize apparent mistakes from the transcription process –

59
will listen to the recorded interviews to ensure it aligns

with the transcript.

To ensure the credibility and consistency of the study, the

researcher will conduct an external audit. The researcher

will seek the help of a volunteer experienced in

qualitative research methods to conduct a thorough review

of the different phases in the study. The researcher will

recommend to the auditor to probe answers to the following

questions:

1. Are the findings grounded in the data?

2. Are the themes appropriate? Can inquiry decisions and

methodological shifts be justified?

3. What is the degree of researcher bias?

4. What strategies are used for increasing credibility?

Interviews

Individual interview will be used as the primary data

collection instrument. Interviews are appropriate for data

collection when behaviour, feelings, and personal

interpretations cannot be observed. Interviews are

appropriate for collecting data on past experiences that

are not replicable.

60
The interview protocol will be designed to collect data

that will show how the participants will engage with IoT

technology, the perceived advantages and drawbacks of IoT

and the factors influencing the adoption of IoT.- The

interviews will occur over a period of x weeks between ___

and ____ of 2018.

The structure of the interview protocol has a series of

open-ended questions that will capture the participant’s

responses in line with the research questions of the study.

This approach is opportune to allow the participants to

elaborate on their response and it also give the researcher

the opportunity to probe the participants response to the

interview questions.

The researcher will send out emails to seek for

participants who will be interested in participating in

this study. After participants confirmed their

participation, a convenient location (their offices?) for

the interview will be determined. Before the start of each

interview, the researcher and participant will review the

consent form – this is to give the participant a

description of the study. The interview sessions will last

less than an hour. The researcher will

61
defined IoT and Big Data and innovation in education

systems in the context of the study. The researcher will

also seek the permission of the participants for a recorded

interview. A smartphone app will be used to record the

interviews. In the course of the interview conversation,

the researcher will take some notes as a memo to clarify

some aspects of the interviewee’s response.

For the three participants who could not physically be

available for interviews, a recorded phone interview will

be used to accommodate their participation. Two of the

participants will be interviewed through a Messenger phone

call and other will be through the traditional cell phone

interview. The researcher will send the participants an

email containing a consent form and the researcher’s phone

number. Before the start of the interviews, the researcher

will encourage the participants to ask any questions if

they needed clarity to ensure the participants will have a

good understanding of what the interview would entail.

The semi-structured questions will allow the investigator

to use a conversational approach to inquiry. This approach

will allow the respondents to elaborate on the subject in

the study. Also, this method give the interviewer the

flexibility to probe the participants to further elaborate

62
on their response. The open-ended nature of the interview

structure also give the research participants an open forum

to respond.

The semi-structured interviews will allow the researcher

some discretion about the order in which to ask the

research questions. The conversational approach of the open

ended interviews will enrich the data for coding.

After each interview, both the researcher and an

independent transcriptionist not affiliated with the study

will transcribe the interview responses within 24 hours of

the interview. The interviews will be transcribed using a

transcription software app and will be saved as a Microsoft

Word document. After the transcription phase, the

researcher read through transcripts and delete any text

that are not relevant to addressing the interview

questions. After sifting the extraneous text from the

transcripts, the researcher will reread the transcripts to

get a general sense of the information that will be

collected about the research questions. During the

transcript winnowing, memos of interest to the research

questions will be noted to help in the coding process.

63
Following the winnowing process, the transcripts and

recorded interview files will be securely uploaded to, for

example, OneDrive cloud storage.

After transcription, member checking will be performed to

review the transcripts against the interview recording.

Thus, will eliminate any transcription errors and any

incorrect assumptions that could have emanated due to the

researcher’s bias. The process give the participants an

opportunity to review and clarify on the accuracy of their

interview response. This process will help in strengthening

the credibility of the study.

Document Analysis

The researcher will ask participants for any artifacts they

will use to enhance their understanding and knowledge of

IoT technology. This documentary source, interview data and

member checking will allow for data triangulation of the

findings. The documentary source that will be provided by

the participants will include course syllabi, IoT related

articles, reports on IoT projects, blogs, magazines,

webinars, and podcast.

Most of the faculty, administrators, and three graduate

students will agree for the individual interviews to be

64
conducted in their offices, when the researcher request for

any documentary sources that they will use to build their

understanding of IoT technology, within reach of their

office they will provide IoT related artifacts. However,

for most of the students and other participants who will

participate in a phone interview, the researcher have to

send a reminder text and email requesting for the IoT

related artifacts that they promised to share with the

researcher. Therefore, the researcher is not aware if

sending reminder text and emails piqued the participant’s

interest in sharing IoT related artifacts.

The researcher will use a document analysis approach to

review and analyze the documentary sources to determine its

relevance to the study. The documentary analysis is a

systematic procedure for reviewing or evaluating documents

- both printed and electronic (computer based and Internet-

transmitted) material. Documents not only support

interviews but they can develop the researcher’s

knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon under

inquiry. The researcher will also use the document analysis

to examine the artifact for credibility, and accuracy in

relation to the study.

65
The artifacts will provide insight not only into the

context of the research participant’s forte; it will also

generate data that will be used to contextualize the

findings from the individual interviews. Additionally, the

information from the document analysis will support the

modification and the design of new interview questions.

This convergence of information that will be established

the content aspect of construct validity. Thus, will

enhance the trustworthy and rigor of this study.

The document analysis provide a means of understanding the

developments in IoT technology within Philippine education

sector. Documents analysis will provide background

information as well as insight about IoT in higher

education. This knowledge and insight will help the

researcher to understand the specific issues and conditions

that impinge upon the adoption of this technology.

Data Analysis Process

A practical approach to data organization and synthesis

will be applied to report the data findings. Data analysis

in qualitative research is the skill and art of making

sense of patterns and themes to formulate answers to

research questions of a study.

66
A content analysis approach will be undertaken in this

study. UTAUT2 theoretical propositions and the literature

reviewed informed the data analysis.

During the interview phase, content analysis will initiate

concurrently during the data collection phase. The ongoing

data analysis will enable the researcher to design

strategies for collecting new data and fill gaps in the

data that will be collected. Additionally, the researcher

will be able to share transcripts with the participants

when there is a need to ascertain if it reflected their

response to the interview questions.

For the process of condensing the data for analysis, the

researcher will unitize the recorded interviews and

documentary sources into three categories that will

represent faculty, administrators, and student responses.

At the end of each interview, the researcher will listen to

the audio recording to get a general sense of the interview

response in relation to the research questions. This segued

to the transcription phase.

Transcription of the recorded interviews will happen within

24 hours of each interview. The time frame is important to

keep track of some nonverbal response during the interview.

The transcripts will be saved as a Microsoft Word document

67
with an anonymous file name for the anonymity of the

respondents. Saving the transcript as a Microsoft Word file

will allow for the file to be imported into QDA Miner Lite,

a free and easy-to-use version of popular computer assisted

qualitative analysis software.

After the transcription process, the researcher read

through each transcript while separating different segments

of the transcript into paragraphs relating to various

points of the participant’s response to the interview

questions. These sections are essential for the

coding purposes. As the researcher will read the

transcripts, concurrently he will review the artifact that

will be provided by the respondents in order to discover

any relationships between the documentary sources and the

participant’s response in the transcript. In the process,

the researcher will be able to add comments and pre-code

the transcripts by highlighting some overarching keywords,

ideas, and phrases that will be of interest to the research

questions. This process will facilitate the preliminary

analysis of the data which will be conducted through an

exploratory method of coding.

The artifacts from the participants will be reviewed and

analyzed through document analysis. The researcher will use

68
an iterative process to combine the principles of content

analysis and thematic analysis to organize and synthesize

information from the artifacts into categories that will

reflect the research questions of the study. During the

document analysis, predefined codes will be used to

establish categories of data that will be generated from

the documentary sources.

For detailed data analysis, the transcript will be imported

into the QDA Miner Lite. In the first cycle coding,

provisional coding approach will be conducted to map

segments of the data that will be collected to constructs

of UTAUT2 framework and literature reviewed. As the

researcher reread the transcripts imported in QDA, there

emerge short sentences and phrases in the data that are

related to the predetermined codes found in the literature

reviewed and the theoretical framework guiding this study.

The short sentences and phrases identified in the coding

process were highlighted using different font colors to

represent specific codes.

After the first cycle coding, the researcher will unitize

the codes into categories and sub-categories having similar

meanings to the research questions of the study.

69
Following the unitization of codes from the first cycle

coding into categories and sub-categories, the researcher

will condense the categories into general patterns. After

analyzing the different groups of codes from the first

cycle coding, the researcher will note that some patterns

will merit further refinement. Therefore, a second level

coding using a pattern-coding approach will be undertaken

to condense the codes from the first cycle coding. During

pattern coding, several of the initial ideas that will

emerge will be reorganized into more coherent and precise

themes that will reflect the research questions of the

study. The themes will transcend the participant’s

response. Thus, establishing the generalizability aspect of

construct validity. The emerging themes will reflect the

literature reviewed and the propositions from the UTAUT2

model. The codes, themes and sub themes that will emerge

will be described in tables.

Ethical Consideration

The privacy and anonymity of the participants in the study

will be maintained to meet the expectations of School of

Graduate Studies, University of Nueva Caceres. The

researcher will not contact any participants before the

approval by the University of Nueva Caceres. Anonymous

70
identification codes will be used for the confidentiality

of the participants during the recorded interviews and

during the data analysis.

Before the data collection, all participants will receive

an adult consent form without signature requirement. This

is to maintain anonymity and confidentiality of

participants. This form will describe the study, the

criterion for a participant to be eligible to participate

in the study and participants will be informed about the

data collection tools and study design.

During the data analysis, the researcher will remove any

discernable personal identifiers relating to the

participants. Additionally, the researcher will confirm to

the participants that the data that will be collected and

the written report would be accessible to them upon

request.

To ensure consideration for the rights of the participants,

the researcher will notify the participants about the data

collection approach, how the data collected will be used

and the recording devices that will be used to capture the

interview. In order to protect the anonymity and

confidentiality of the participants, each recorded

71
interview will be given an anonymous code as a label to the

audio file. The process is intended to guard for the

participant’s identity; additionally, to preserve the

utmost confidentiality of the subjects. The researcher

protect the privacy of the participants by deleting any

word or phrase that could be used to identify the

participant. Furthermore, OneDrive cloud storage will be

used as a repository for the transcripts. The transcripts

will be saved in OneDrive for up to x years and then after

will be deleted leaving no discernible records.

The researcher also considered personal integrity and

prejudices during the ethical consideration in the study by

ensuring that the study findings and conclusion will be an

accurate reflection of the interpretation of the collected

data.

NOTES

1. Scott Swigart, Sean Campbell (June 2015). 10 things

researchers need to know about the Internet of Things - Why

qualitative will be king and old-school industries will

still matter in the age of the Internet of Things.

72
https://www.quirks.com/articles/10-things-researchers-need-

to-know-about-the-internet-of-things

2. Sameer Srivastava (September 9, 2017). IoT Needs

Qualitative User Research. https://www.iotforall.com/iot-

needs-qualitative-user-research/

3. Angel De Dios (January 23, 2018) Why Decentralization

Matters

http://www.philippinesbasiceducation.us/2018/01/why-

decentralization-matters.html

73