BYOD is an issue very real to me in my current position as technology department head at my 8-12 high school. This November our district attempted to upgrade its wifi capability and for a short period we had the ability to offer students access to BYOD wireless service. At that time I met with the principal and a colleague who I share the tech department head responsibilities with and we decided that we would open wifi to the staff, but that we weren't ready to give students access. Our rationale was based on several reasons. First, we feared that this would negatively affect our bandwidth, which was already temperamental and at time limiting for our existing labs and teacher computers. Second, we were worried about inappropriate use and distraction in the classroom. Third, we felt it was redundant as we had just launched three mobile labs and 72 laptop computers with stable wifi access in addition to the two fully functioning computer labs. Concluding that students had abundant and equitable access to technology, we didn’t feel the need to pursue BYOD access at that time. After preparing a week long seminar on BYOD my opinion on the matter has shifted and I would now advocate for student wifi access. In many ways I was already sold on the idea of BYOD as for years I’ve encouraged my students to use their own devices for educational purposes. Piloting an iPod project three years ago, I have been actively encouraging students to purchase and use apps for their own learning. The difference is that only a relatively small percentage of students have access to a device with a 3G network where they have disposable data that they don’t mind using for educational reasons. Realistically without access to free WIFI it would be very hard for classroom teachers to thoroughly integrate the use of student handheld devices into their lessons and curriculum.
I now believe that promoting a BYOD program and enabling student wifi access is more than just offering a student access to a computer, or class access to a lab. The idea that students are integrating their own devices into their daily learning, and that they are engaged in curriculum, especially inquiry style learning that supports this type of technology usage in the larger issue. This philosophical change where we we view smartphones and tablets as key tools in assisting and enhancing learning and not just cheating devices that spoil multi-choice tests and content centered worksheets is to me the larger issue and the reason why I think we must push past the obstacles and attempt to offer this service to students. A big reason for my shift in attitude was a recent blog post by George Couros titled” Inequity and BYOD”. In his post he writes ,
...many schools have “computer labs” where we take kids once or
twice a week, to do something with technology or allow them to type
out an essay for us. This is not a good use of technology any more and
we should know better now. Technology should be at the point of instruction
and be as accessible in learning as a pencil; it shouldn’t be an event. How
many pencil labs do you have in your school? (Couros, G, 2013)
After reading this I realized that I profoundly agree with this statement. Following my BYOD seminar in OLTD 509 I scheduled a meeting with our district techs with a goal to put in motion BYOD access for our students. My hopes were short lived as I discovered that due to technical issues, BYOD access could not be restored at the district level until the following September. Some things are out of our control I suppose, but I now strongly feel that schools need to embrace BYOD not simply as a cost saving measure, but to so that classrooms embrace tools that are already being ubiquitously used everywhere else in our society. Like any powerful tool there is always the risk that students will use them in inappropriate ways, but this only reinforces the need to teach and model safe and responsible use, and perhaps to take this one step further and integrate this into the curriculum.
References:
Couros, G., “Inequity and BYOD”, (2013), http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/9885?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Image from: http://www.securedgenetworks.com/secure-edge-networks-blog/bid/81148/4-Myths-of-BYOD-on-Enterprise-Wireless-Networks-Debunked
I now believe that promoting a BYOD program and enabling student wifi access is more than just offering a student access to a computer, or class access to a lab. The idea that students are integrating their own devices into their daily learning, and that they are engaged in curriculum, especially inquiry style learning that supports this type of technology usage in the larger issue. This philosophical change where we we view smartphones and tablets as key tools in assisting and enhancing learning and not just cheating devices that spoil multi-choice tests and content centered worksheets is to me the larger issue and the reason why I think we must push past the obstacles and attempt to offer this service to students. A big reason for my shift in attitude was a recent blog post by George Couros titled” Inequity and BYOD”. In his post he writes ,
...many schools have “computer labs” where we take kids once or
twice a week, to do something with technology or allow them to type
out an essay for us. This is not a good use of technology any more and
we should know better now. Technology should be at the point of instruction
and be as accessible in learning as a pencil; it shouldn’t be an event. How
many pencil labs do you have in your school? (Couros, G, 2013)
After reading this I realized that I profoundly agree with this statement. Following my BYOD seminar in OLTD 509 I scheduled a meeting with our district techs with a goal to put in motion BYOD access for our students. My hopes were short lived as I discovered that due to technical issues, BYOD access could not be restored at the district level until the following September. Some things are out of our control I suppose, but I now strongly feel that schools need to embrace BYOD not simply as a cost saving measure, but to so that classrooms embrace tools that are already being ubiquitously used everywhere else in our society. Like any powerful tool there is always the risk that students will use them in inappropriate ways, but this only reinforces the need to teach and model safe and responsible use, and perhaps to take this one step further and integrate this into the curriculum.
References:
Couros, G., “Inequity and BYOD”, (2013), http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/9885?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Image from: http://www.securedgenetworks.com/secure-edge-networks-blog/bid/81148/4-Myths-of-BYOD-on-Enterprise-Wireless-Networks-Debunked