Since students and adults are continually linked to some kind of technological device, it seems logical that these devices, such as cell phones, iPads, and iPods, could be infused into instruction to enhance student engagement and produce successful learning outcomes. I'm interested in this topic because it seems like the most cost effective way to fulfill a one to one ratio with the student population.
Below is information from an article in the April 2012 Tech & Learning magazine about the 10 Best Practices for BYOD.
- Cover the whys. What makes BOYD a good fit for your district? You'll need to think through the options and outline the benefits.
- Get buy-in. You'll need a solid, written plan to get approval from your board and buy-in from parents and teachers.
- Determine the devices. Determine what you will allow on campus, including whether you'll only allow devices with wi-fi connectivity or also those with 3G connectivity.
- Update all AUPs. Set and share policies for what, when, and how students can use their own devices on campus and determine how you'll enforce them.
- Plan your IT support protocols. Determine what IT will and won't do on personal devices, and what hours IT support will be available.
- Educate teachers. Give them basic advice to support lessons across multiple platforms.
- Address equality. What will you do about students who don't have a device? Make supplemental devices part of your plan.
- Prepare your network. Get your wireless infrastructure ready for BYOD demands, determine how you will secure your primary network, force personally owned devices onto a separate LAN, and provide filtered access through that LAN.
- Provide a platform. BYOD encourages anytime, anywhere, any device learning--so make sure you have a safe, mobile, collaborative platform compatible with any device that students and teachers can access for schoolwork, discussions, resources, assignments, and more.
- Be prepared, but flexible. BYOD is a big change for many districts. Prepare yourself by reading and listening to districts who have done it--but also be flexible and ready to adapt to unexpected surprises (good and bad).
There are, however, barriers to implementing BYOD. One of which being the the "digital divide", or the idea that students from upper class families have a personal iPad, iPod, smart phone, or all of the above, and students from lower income families do not have access to such things to bring to school. Although this is true in some cases in my school, the majority of students above third grade have a connectable device that could be used during instruction. Another barrier is the infrastructure needed to connect the plethera of devices that are brought to school in a district of Madison County's size. Preparing and managing this type of connectivity requires many resources, including personnel and financial. Lastly, if teachers and administrators do not have a clear plan of how to incorporate many kinds of devices into instruction, the success of a BYOD program cannot be fulfilled. Many hours of professional development and collaboration must be spent to prepare for such a task.
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