What is BYOD?

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is becoming more and more common in the workplace. It is only a matter of time before it finds its way into schools and has already done so in many cases.

BYOD is exactly what it stands for: each student brings his or her own device to school. In the context of the school, the most appropriate device would be a tablet because of its large screen and the range of devices available for every budget.

One of the biggest challenges in BYOD would be to standardize the environment for learning, unless the applications are online and are to be accessed with the help of a web browser. If Apps are to be used and there are no restrictions on what devices can be brought, the school will need to have a tech support department on continuous call and teachers would need to check whether the same Apps are available in all the App stores of the leading manufacturers (i.e. Apple, Google & Microsoft). A better solution would be to standardize the environment and specify what devices are allowed to be brought to school as part of BYOD.

Charging sockets, an air printer and a wireless network will be the minimum required infrastructure for this setup. There will need to be an acceptable use policy and students will have to be taught to use the devices responsibly and what Apps they can or cannot use in class.

BYOD doesn’t mean that the school will be able to make any device work; there are limitations. Unregulated, BYOD can quickly become a nightmare, so the school must publish what devices are accepted as part of the BYOD program.

•As mentioned above, guidelines need to be established as to what devices are acceptable for the classroom. Some areas of focus should be standardization of the platform or Operating System (e.g. Android, Apple or Microsoft), screen size, memory, etc. On mobile devices, uniformity is your friend. Students will be more interested in another’s device if it is fancier than their own.

•Students should be taught how to handle the devices carefully; dropped devices often have the habit of landing on their screens which translates to an expensive repair.

•It would be a step in the right direction to prohibit devices with SIM cards and provide students with Internet access through a content filter via the school’s wireless network.

What are some different ways you have encouraged students to use their own devices for schoolwork?