BYOD Is Shaping Education in the 21st Century

Chansamone O’Meara

ET

References

Miller, B. BYOD Is Shaping Education in the 21st Century. (2015, April 19). Retrieved April 27, 2015, from http://tech.co/byod-education-21st-century-2015-04

It is important to integrate technology into the classroom and schools must accept that is is the new expectation.  Schools must provide the hardware and software tools to properly build 21st century skills.  Bring your own device (BYOD) is being adopted across schools.  There are several benefits of BYOD in education.  1) It increases access to technology for students.  Some schools do not have the budget to provide every student with their own device to use.  And devices that students or their family own are usually newer and powerful devices as well. Students that have better devices can use their own and those that don’t own a device, can use the school’s. 2) Schools can save money because students are responsible for their device.  If it breaks or is lost or stolen, students are responsible for replacing it. 3) BYOD allows for different communication between the teacher and the student.  It focuses on a student-centered approach.  Teachers and students can share information with each other. 4) Assignments presented or completed online do not require teachers to repeat information presented on a powerpoint.  Students can access the information on their own and type out their own notes at their own pace. “Technology now enables students to listen to the teacher and absorb the information, rather than tuning out the teacher and hurredly scribbling down the notes without proper analytical thinking and contemplation.” 5) BYOD gives students the opportunity to collaborate with each other on assignments and projects.  They can access the assignments at home and work in their own setting. 6) Students can access their textbooks without having to carry around their heavy books.  Students also don’t have to worry about forgetting their books. 7) Assessments can be completed online. Grading for teachers can speed up the process as well.  It saves time and is more efficient.

Evaluation

I think that schools that do not have the budget for 1:1 program should consider adopting the BYOD policy.  The school that I am working at currently will budget for and rollout the 1:1 initiative in the next 2-3 years.  While that is happening, there are some students that bring their own devices and work on their assignment.  Students are not currently able to access the internet with their own device.  The school district forbids personal devices on their network.  I think it should be something to reconsider.  While BYOD is a great idea, there are a lot of logistical problems that need to considered and planned out.  Schools need to consider their wifi access points and network capabilities. I completely agree with the author of the article however that all schools must integrate technology into their curriculum.  If BYOD is the only viable solution, then school districts should examine whether they can safely allow personal devices onto their internet network.