As a teacher who has always worked in BYOD schools with great success, and who has come to rely on student access to personal devices in my teaching, I am a huge fan of BYOD policies. Therefore, I have focused my research on two areas: challenges of BYOD policies, and the specific BYOD culture and policy of my new school and district. I have decided this approach will provide the most meaningful learning for me personally. What is BYOD I would define BYOD (bring your own device) as a policy commonly used in workplaces and schools that allows for members of the school or work community to bring their own smartphone, iPod, tablet, and/or laptop for use in completing tasks associated with work/school. According to the Anchorage School District, BYOD “allows students to bring their own computing devices, such as smartphones, laptops, e-readers, tablets or other mobile gadgets, to school during the school day for educational purposes” (What is BYOD, n.d.). Challenges of Implementing and Supporting a BYOD Policy According to Martini, 2013, “Ensuring technology is in place to tackle security challenges is essential to ensuring control over mobile access, preventing network vulnerabilities and safeguarding students.” He outlines 4 possible challenges: 1) consistent access 2) bandwidth 3) malware and botnets and 4) the need to block restricted apps. However, for each of these challenges, Martini also outlines realistic, fairly inexpensive, and effective solutions. Honestly, some of his suggestions are absolutely genius and I wish my previous schools had done this. For instance, “identity-based policies for web and network access” and “Location-based BYOD technologies … provide the ability to set web access policies not only by a users role (i.e. teacher versus student), but also the user’s physical location on the network.” These two solutions would be total game changers! BYOD, 2016 also tackles the challenges of BYOD policies:
Benefits of BYOD BYOD increases flexibility and focus (Martini, 2013), as well as providing for inherent transparency and authenticity (Heick, 2015). According to Heick, 2015, “[b]y its very nature, BYOD is authentic...there is an important opportunity to connect with not just [students’] personal lives, but their natural way of doing things.” He continues that BYOD is more efficient because students are no longer forced to deal with unfamiliar technology and teachers no longer have to teach their students about that technology. Martini, 2013 asserts that BYOD increases student and teacher collaboration, extends learning beyond the traditional classroom walls, and cuts costs for many school districts. According to an interview conducted by Mike Nesper in the Chugiak/Eagle River Star (2013) of Principal Legg of Chugiak High and Principal Lang of Eagle River High, reasons these two schools participated in the Anchorage School District’s 2013 pilot program of BYOD (and are now BYOD schools) are as follows: “We want to harness that technology,” (Lang), “It’s brining the 21st century into classrooms” (Legg), BYOD can be used for information sharing with tools like Google Docs, “students out of school for the day — or even on vacation out of state — could still work on group projects” (Lang), and both principals have high hopes that the program will shift the negative association about phones in school to a positive one: ‘Rather than restricting the use, it’s to encourage the use,’ says Principal Legg. I can support Legg’s claim with a personal anecdote. We started this year with a new principal and students were told they could not use their phones. The pushback from students was loud and immediate, the pushback from teachers and other staff was quieter but definitely there. Our student council immediately wrote a resolution to change the policy back to a BYOD policy, with 100% support from teachers, parents and other students. The policy was changed right away. This illustrates just how important BYOD is to all stakeholders in education! BYOD uses tools that are literally already in our students’ pockets to improve efficiency, flexibility, authenticity, connectedness, communication, and lead to a more positive school climate where students, teachers, and administrators are working together. Conclusion Yes, every school needs a BYOD policy. How would you feel if you were told to check your phone, tablet, Kindle, and laptop at the door every day for 6 hours? Asking kids to leave their devices in their lockers is not realistic, and would cause schools to miss out on beautiful opportunities for meaningful teaching and learning. Helpful Tools: BYOD Readiness Checklist for Teachers BYOD Readiness Checklist Administrators References:
BYOD. (2016). Retrieved July 11, 2016, from https://www.k12blueprint.com/toolkits/byod Heick, T. (2015, February 06). The Brutal Authenticity Of BYOD. Retrieved July 11, 2016, from http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/byod-is-shortest-path-to-student-centered-learning/ Martini, P. (2013, December 22). 4 Challenges That Can Cripple Your School's BYOD Program. Retrieved July 11, 2016, from http://www.teachthought.com/uncategorized/4-challenges-can-cripple-schools-byod-program/ Nesper, M. (2013, August 14). School district permits new devices in class. Chugiak Eagle River Star. Retrieved July 11, 2016, from http://www.alaskastar.com/community/2013-08-14/school-district-permits-new-devices-class#.V4PJBesrKgB What is BYOD? (n.d.). -Anchorage School District. Retrieved July 11, 2016, from http://www.asdk12.org/informationtechnology/byod/
4 Comments
Genevieve
7/15/2016 11:31:23 am
I really enjoyed reading your blog. It's true that everyone (faculty, staff and students) are bringing their devices to school, and not putting those devices to use is a waste. I agree that if we allow our students to use the devices rather than store them in their lockers it'll increase "efficiency, flexibility, authenticity, connectedness, communication, and lead to a more positive school climate where students, teachers, and administrators are working together." Our school doesn't allow students to use their devices, yet. I see students listening to their music, but as far as connecting our devices to the school's wireless, it's blocked. I would like to see the BYOD policy implemented in our school district, as I agree the benefits outweigh the challenges.
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Aleta May
7/15/2016 04:30:31 pm
Camille,
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7/16/2016 03:02:52 pm
That is great Anchorage has a BYOD policy. I believe Anchorage School District is at the forefront of most innovative practices. They see the importance of allowing students to use their own devices for school work. I like the FAQ flyer you mentioned. Very legitimate questions. I think if we change the stigma that smartphones are just for Tweeting, posting Instagrams, Snapchats, and the such, we can move on and use their devices for what they can be... mini computers! Smartphones are amazing devices. It would be great for wireless carriers to support education by providing "basic" smartphones for students to use for school, for a minimum monthly fee. Even if it were $15 a month, I'm sure parents would gladly provide their own kids with a smartphone. They don't need to purchase data, as long as school provide free wi-fi. Just a thought. :-)
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ruralakteacher
7/17/2016 01:41:22 pm
It was interesting to read in your benefits section the part about "connecting to the students personal lives and their natural way of doing things. I believe that in larger schools, where the students have had the experiences of one-to-one technological benefits and typing classes that BYOD seems appropriate since there has always been that climate of the school. Some schools and students(like mine) have not had a lot of access to items one would find in a BYOD school like iPads and laptops until they got to school. The parents also need to be on board and I would struggle if I were to propose a BYOD policy where I am at. Yes, our school has technology available for students to use and there is an expectation to learn skills related to Emerging Technologies, but it is a concern for my families that it does not take away from the real learning. Many view these devices as games.
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