If a school is to implement BYOD, there are many things that need to be considered. First, there needs to be infrastructure within schools that can support high traffic on wifi. If infrastructure can’t handle high traffic, student’s won’t be able to use tools on the web to their fullest potential, and technology can be used within the classroom as effectively. The school also needs to be determined what types of technology will be allowed. The school needs to think about what types of tools they want students to be using and how students will be using technology in their classrooms. Most likely, laptops, tablets, eReaders, and smartphones would be appropriate tools. I think if a school is to implement BYOD, it should start at middle school, and no younger so that parents of younger students aren't pressured.
Schools also need policies in place, like when technology can be used, what it should be used for, and what shouldn’t be used. There should be logical consequences that are in place in case there are technology use violations such as loss of technology for a period of time, or limited technology use. Parents should also be notified as part of this to keep them informed and so they can follow through at home as well. Trainings would also need to take place. The district should be in charge of setting up trainings during staff development days. They should be trained on how students should be using technology and how to teach students how to use technology in school. Teachers need to be in charge of training students, letting them know how to use various tools effectively that’ll be used throughout the school year, and teaching them the policies. Parents also need to be informed through letters home to school, pollicies regarding BYOD in the family handbook and parent nights where parents are informed at school by administrators and teacher leaders.
Although BYOD would make more technology available, I feel that the negatives outweigh the positives, and BYOD would be a good fit. My school’s town has a high number of students who live in poverty. If we were to implement BYOD, there would be the issue of kids being seen as the haves and have nots. This would also put pressure on parents to spend a lot of money on technology so their kids are “like the other kids”. The issue also arises of what age students should be expected to be bringing in their own devices. I think the technology that is available today can be a great tool for kids to use, but as a parent, my wife and I struggle with how much technology we want our daughter to use. At two years old, our daughter can easily navigate our iPhones and iPad. On one hand, it’s great that she’s learning how to use technology, but on the other, we want her to learn to use her imagination and not become dependent on the use of technology to keep her entertained. Parents of older children face these same dilemmas. It seems that kids are getting younger and younger when they get their first tablet or cell phone. It’s hard for parents to make this decision without having extra outside pressures like a school that’s implementing BYOD.
There are many other issues that could arise with students bringing in their own devices:
- Students could compare technology with one another and some students feeling that their technology isn’t as good as other students. Even within the students who have technology, there could be the haves and have nots.
- If students are using 3G or 4G, they can bypass firewalls, and no matter how vigilant staff is, you can’t see what every student is doing all the time.
- It also gives students opportunities to become distracted with doing things that aren’t on task on their devices.
- Teachers cannot be expected to be able to provide technology support for all students having issues.
- All devices may not be able to support a tool teachers may want to use in a lesson.
As I previously stated, although BYOD brings in more available technology for students to be using during lessons, there are many negatives that come along with it. While teachers would see the advantage of being able to implement more technology in their lessons, they would have to do more in terms of management, which would be more work for them in the end game.
Resources:
BYOD – Worst Idea of the 21st Century? (2009). Retrieved January 7, 2015, from http://stager.tv/blog/?p=2397
Walsh, K. (2012, July 1). Free Ed Tech Resources eBook. Retrieved January 7, 2015, from http://www.emergingedtech.com/2012/07/5-reasons-why-byod-is-a-bad-idea/
What is BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and Why Should Teachers Care? (2012, November 12). Retrieved January 7, 2015, from http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/tech-ed/what-is-byod-bring-your-own-device-and-why-should-teachers-care/
Tyler,
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! I truly enjoyed reading your perspective on BYOD programs and agreed with a lot of what you said. The point of your post that I could really relate to was in why you believe that even though BYOD programs offer access to additional technology, the negatives are serious, especially in school districts whose population is struggling financially. Like you I work in such a district, if a BYOD program were to be introduced only 10% of our population would benefit from the program, as only the well off kids would be able to afford the cost of purchasing their own technology devices, which would surely cause a wave of resentment amongst the students. The other negatives you listed were spot on, especially you point about 3G and 4G networks, even if students were required to login to the schools network, they are smart enough to quickly switch their networks in plane site of the teacher, so that they can go on and check other sites during class time. I have learned from experience that if a student whats to do something bad enough they will find a way..no matter their age and understanding of the consequences.
Thanks for sharing
Terri