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In this article, we present the main enabling technologies of smart classrooms such as the virtual reality technologies, IoT, and artificial intelligence assisted techniques. We show that a robust and resilient smart classroom can prevent pandemic obstructions in education. We also present the main utilities of smart classrooms which are very much different from the traditional classrooms. Finally we have gone through the long term sustainability aspects of the smart classrooms.
Large scale pandemics affect every facet of human activities. Education sector is no exception. But there are several technological alternatives to fulfill the voids created by the pandemics. Due to the technological advances, education methods and policies have been changed significantly over the last hundred years. Numerous effective methods have been introduced at different levels. Several virtual technologies such as virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and augmented reality (AR) are found to be very effective in the education sector (Liu et al., 2017). In addition to them, there are several other immersive and interactive technologies which are essential for smart teaching and learning. Especially, the Internet of things (IoT) has provided a lot of options for interactive education. Extensive uses of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have added new dimensions to the smart teaching and learning environments. Amidst the raising demands for smart and remote learning, the world faced the tough situation of the Covid-19 viral pandemic in 2020. The needs for smart classrooms have been felt more than ever before due to this pandemic. Keeping the current difficulties in view there are needs of pandemic centric education systems. These systems should not be affected by the pandemic situations like the one we saw in 2020 and now. These systems have to be resilient and technology enabled so that the teaching and learning methods are not affected by the pandemics. In fact, these methods must promote both physical as well as the remote learning techniques. In either way the teaching and learning outcomes must not be differed to a large extent. This is a great lesson for the future that any pandemic or pandemic-like situations must not affect the school, college, and university education the way it has been affected by Covid-19. The enabling technologies of smart classrooms are also readily available in the recent years. Therefore, pandemic centric smart classrooms are essential for the future education systems.