My school has not yet adopted or talked about the BYOD policy so researching this topic shed a lot of light on this matter. Before, I would have been ignorant to all the potential consequences of allowing such a policy. After reading through various blogs I see the great potential, but this can only be accomplished with thorough background work. A few challenges as reported by Peter Martini from Teach Thought are:
As for NEEDING a BYOD policy, I don’t think this should ever be mandatory, but encouraged. If students already have these devices and most schools don’t have the means to provide more technology, then this seems like an obvious solution. With every tool or strategy automatically comes setbacks. It is how we approach these inevitable setbacks that makes it useful and productive. A major concern is that BYOD would cause an increase in student distraction. Govering.com contradicts this by saying, “But others argue that what appears to be a distraction to one generation not used to mobile devices is just a judgment not backed by rigorous data. Kristen Purcell, the associate director at Pew, told The New York Times that the study’s findings could show that the education system must adjust to the way students learn (Holeywell, 2013).” Many districts have begun this new era BYOD and offer sound advice for any districts wanting to begin this approach. Dayton ISD in Southeast Texas reported that the key strategies to making it work are: Add ample bandwidth and update your wireless infrastructure. Take a team approach that involves curriculum and technology leaders. Plan age-appropriate use. Pilot with a smaller group first (Caramanico, 2014). “In this decade, it is no less important to teach children how to use their other technology “brains” as it is to teach them to use their physical brains — to ignore such an obvious and powerful augmentation would be irresponsible (Panagos).” This statement comes from Wired.com in support of BYOD. As we advance forward, our brains must as well and part of this means meeting the students where their lives are at. Caramanico, N. 2014. BYO, Chromebooks and Innovative Learning in Southeast Texas. Retrieved from https://www.k12blueprint.com/success-stories/byo-chromebooks-and-innovative-learning-southeast-texas Holeywell, R. 2013. BYOD Policies, Growing More Popular, Create Challenges for Schools. Retrieved from http://www.governing.com/blogs/view/gov-byod-policies-create-school-challenges.html Panagos, T. The Future of Education: BYOD in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/insights/2013/09/the-future-of-education-byod-in-the-classroom/ Martini, P. 4 Challenges That Can Cripple Your School’s BYOD Program. Retrieved from http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/technology/4-challenges-can-cripple-schools-byod-program/
1 Comment
Dr. F
7/31/2017 11:45:10 am
Well thought out discussion on this topic. Good work.
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