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Heathrow , Florida
I'm Ashley! I am a teacher to 20 precious second graders, and I love my job more and more everyday. I am engaged to my highschool sweetheart and will be getting married in February 2017! We have two dogs - Tank, our Boxer and Colt, our Mali-Shepherd Mix.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

BYOD

BYOD

BYOD simply means, “bring your own device”.

BYOD (bring your own device) is where you allow your students and staff to use personal devices on your school wireless network. BYOD can be implemented in schools for many reasons. I know that at the school I currently work at in Seminole County has a BYOD agreement if students choose to bring their personal device from home to school. It is optional, not mandatory, and because we are a technology school, we have plenty of devices available for our use in our classrooms. Some schools that implement BYOD might simply do it because of budget cuts and with the high expense of purchasing tablets or computers, it may be easier for a school to tell students to bring in their own personal device from home. Schools must consider everything when deciding if they are going to implement BYOD.

This is the statement on my school’s BYOD agreement…

We have implemented a Bring Your Own Device program enabling students to bring several types of wireless devices for use in the classroom. At home, students are actively using wireless devices to do homework, research projects, read, and communicate with friends, etc. The opportunities to use wireless devices are almost limitless. Students wishing to participate must follow the responsibilities stated in the Acceptable Use Policy as well as the following guidelines”. 

I know in the primary grades, seeing personal devices brought from home for educational use is not that common. But, the upper grades have a large amount of students who want to bring in their tablets and/or personal laptops but they must have a BYOD agreement signed and turned in in order to do so. On the agreement there are guidelines that students need to follow I order to bring their own device. If the student violates the agreement, it may result in the loss of them being able to bring their own personal device.

I read an article by Ashley Wainright, and she focused on the pros and cons of students bringing your own devices. She listed 20 pros and 15 cons… Below I only listed a few to discuss:

What are some pros of BYOD?
--Students are already familiar and comfortable using their own technology so they can        focus on actually learning with them than learning how to use the device.
     --It’s a cost-effective way to save schools money on technology.
     --BYOD allows more opportunities for more personalized learning where students can excel   at their own pace.

What are some cons of BYOD?
·      --All these mobile devices can overload your wireless network.
·      --Parents may not be happy with the idea of paying for mobile devices for use in school.
·      --Students may be more easily distracted while working on their own mobile devices.
·      --Students forget to bring their mobile devices.

(Wainright, 2016)

What will the future of classrooms look like for BYOD? When going through and reading the list of pros and cons, I agreed with both sides. As far as the cons go, I feel as though the biggest one that jumped out to me was about parents being unhappy about paying for them. More in depth of that, I think that there are many parents that are unable to pay for them at all. How will students who come from families who can’t provide that type of technology for them be able to participate in the program? Because our school is optional with BYOD, and we have technology provided for us already in class, we don’t have the issue of that. But I know if our school tired to become a full BYOD school, we would have a big percentage of students who would not be able to bring their own device. I am sure there are possibilities for potential grants or scholarships to where students could get a device, but then how would the parents feel who are buying the devices? There is so much to consider.

Does anyone else have the BYOD policy in place at his or her schools? How do you feel about it? What do you think the advantages and disadvantages are?




Wainwright, A. 20 Pros and Cons of implementing BYOD in schools. September 20, 2016, http://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/20-Pros-and-Cons-of-implementing-BYOD-in-schools

7 comments:

  1. I love this idea. It is innovative and creative and extremely useful in the classroom.
    Although there are both pros and cons to using the idea of Bringing your own device in the classroom the pros outweigh the cons tremendously.
    I have heard of this idea in other classrooms and schools across the nation and it seems to be a popular idea. I recently read an article talking about this and it opened my mind to the possibilities that could be explored with the idea.
    BYOD would need to monitor students closely so they did not get distracted in class, which could be a major downfall, but once teachers find a way to combat that issue I believe BYOD will be extremely effective.

    -Nick Banyard

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  2. I do have a BYOD policy at my school, although I have not taken advantage of it.. yet! The teacher that I worked by last year, she did implement this into her classroom and your pros and cons list was very similar to what I observed last year. I feel overall it went pretty well. The students were definitely more engaged, the students were able to work at their own pace because they had all the materials they needed in front of them, and didn't have to worry about keeping up with the rest of the group. Also, I felt that students were definitely more comfortable using their own devices than using the computer at school. Even though they may be the same or have the same features, the thought of "this is mine" just really worked the kids over!

    Although I agree with the majority of your cons, there is one that I found was not a con in her classroom and that was the devices becoming a distraction. The students knew exactly what was expected from them during "Device Time" and were required to either put it in the case, or put it face down while the teacher was talking. Even a little peak at the device and they would lose their device for the day. It took maybe once or twice for them to lose the device before they never did it again!

    All in all, I hope to include the BYOD in my classroom within the next few years. I am a huge fan of bringing the devices into the classroom and teaching students that they are not a distraction or just fun, but they are a tool to help them learn!

    -Lauren Pasterchik

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  3. Ashley,

    I found your BYOD post fairly interesting this week because my sister actually works at a charter school in Auburndale. In her school, (because it is low poverty level) each student has their own iPad provided by the school. Each student can use the iPad for class notes and can even take it home for homework. Her school is also an A school so I am sure they got funded for such devices for each student.

    I also think that BYOD is important because all students no matter what age or ethnicity know how to use technology in todays daily life. It is amazing to see how quickly kids learn to not only navigate through the iPad and learn its features and different apps but to learn so much from these apps. These devices will truly transform the way kids learn now and in the future to come.

    I am so excited to see what the future holds regarding BYOD and also the devices offered in schools. I was reading an article this week regarding devices in schools and how for some schools it is just not logical financially. That also got me thinking about schools now that are getting the new iPads, or MacBooks. But, what happens in 5 years when the newer version comes out or 5 years after that. I am sure these schools cant afford to keep purchasing these devices because they are the most up to date!!

    Anyways, great post Ashley!! I really enjoyed reading and reflecting this week!!

    Lindsay Pulse

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  4. Hi Ashley,

    I think every student would love the idea of BYOD program. They can actually use their cell phones in class! This is so exciting for students, especially in the primary grades. Those who still do not have a cell phone can use the in class computers, laptops, or IPads. Everyone will be using some kind of technology! The only thing is that the teacher would have to tailor the lesson plans so different technologies could be used.

    I completely agree with you when you said that most parents will be unhappy about paying for their own child’s device. They would see it as another expense in addition to the supplies they already need to buy. Especially if you work in a Title 1 school, a lot of parents probably will not be able to afford a device for their child. Maybe the school can set aside additional school funds for those who can’t afford a device. However, it will be unfair to the parents who can afford the device for their child. Maybe the only option would be for the school to set up a fundraiser and use those funds to purchase devices for the students.

    Very interesting post!

    Joanndeliz

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  5. Ashley-
    I thought it was interesting how you mentioned BYOD in the primary classroom, as I teach second grade, too! I also posted about BYOD and I think it could be used in the primary classroom with tablets. It would be so great! However, there are definitely cons, as you mentioned. I think the tablets would have to be reinforced with a strong cover and put in a case for safe transportation. That alone sounds like enough to turn people away! But, hopefully one day our students will all have access to this kind of technology in the classroom. I think it is great, though, that your school offers this to students, I would definitely be open to it if parents were on board!

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  6. Ashley,
    I love the idea of BYOD to school. I teach 3rd grade, so my students are fairly acclimated to using technology. I've been reading a lot about this concept lately and your blogpost has inspired me to ask my principal if I can have a BYOD day in my classroom. I've been itching to use more technology this year and this is a great way to start. My school has iPads we can borrow every now and then so I could always give students one, who do not bring a device. I feel as though I can make learning so much fun by having my students use different devices. I only have 2 main concerns with BYOD: liability and it being a distraction. I do not want a child's device to get broken or scratched while at school. Also, I feel as though students might think it is ok to fool around and play games, etc. when they should be doing work.
    I enjoyed reading your post and reflecting!
    -Annie

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  7. I've always heard of this concept, but have never brought it to fruition my own intermediate elementary education classroom. I see so many advantages to this idea of BYOD. There are so many online apps and activities that allow students to interact with each other in small group and large group settings. I can remember one of my high school teachers using this as a way for us to take attendance in the morning and to assign us in learning groups for the day. I could definitely see this concept being carried out in secondary classrooms. Most students today have tablets and smartphones over laptops, anyway!

    Thank you for your post! :)

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