More Thoughts on BYOD

You may remember the post that I wrote on November 9th about Ms. La Prairie’s class trying out BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) in the class. Students were very excited, and started doing some work with iPod Touches, smart phones, non-smart phones and laptops. Some concerns were raised, with some of the concerns being addressed in the original blog or emails from Ms. La Prairie to the parents of the students in her class.

Some of the key behaviours that I have found interesting in this trial include:

  • Using phones as calculators – often students in grade 7 require a calculator to work through some of the problems that they are given, and students are using their devices to help with math.
  • Calendar and homework tracking – we see students using the phones to take pictures of their homework board, and noting due dates on their calendars.
  • Research – some students access our wireless with their iPods or laptops when there are not enough laptops available for everyone in class. We have many laptops in use daily, but sometimes more than one class wants them at a time.

Due to interest from Mme Simpson and her students, we have now started a trial in her classroom (grade 6/7). She has emailed her parents about some of the key discussion points I had with her class:

  • educational use only – we discussed many different ideas on how to use technology, and will discover more as we move forward with these projects.
  • in-class use only – for now, we are keeping this in the class. This is not permission to take out iPods at lunch and listen to music.
  • follow the Code of Conduct – all behaviour when using technology must fall within the guidelines of our school’s code of conduct.
  • used with teacher supervision only – Teachers are aware of when students are using their devices, and students are showing respect when we ask that they put the devices away.
  • optional – it is optional to bring a device from home. Many concerns over security are brought up, but for most kids, they seem to feel more secure being allowed to keep their phones or iPods in their pockets, than when they have to leave them in their backpacks. If a parent says no, we support that choice.

There now seems to be interest in other classes, especially at the grade 6 and 7 level. I will be talking to their teachers first before I talk to the students about the proper use of devices at school.

We will also work on developing clearer communication with parents about BYOD. It will take time.

Please note: this is not an opportunity for students to try to get their parents to buy them new devices. Bringing a device is optional.

I have had discussions with some parents about concerns with the BYOD initiatives. How do we deal with equity? Should children truly be bringing their family laptops to school? Wouldn’t it be better to buy more laptops for the schools? I don’t know all the answers to those questions, but we do consider them when discussing technology and its use.

We are looking at many ideas about using technology at school. Teachers are looking at iPads, apple TV, laptops and other devices and how they could be used in schools. We are still learning.

If you have any questions about using personal devices in school, please contact your child’s teacher.

This year the staff is looking to develop a school technology plan. These BYOD trials are helping us better understand how we can use technology to support and enhance learning in the classroom. We still make use of school laptops and desktop computers on a daily basis, and many classes make use of the computer lab.

For those of you who are interested in, here are a couple of blogs about the topic:

There may be links out there against BYOD, but I have boon looking more at why we should try it. We will continue to have dialogue about technology in schools over the coming months.

Take care.