Issue 5: School Readiness, K-12
Introduction
Once a school has decided to implement a BYOD initiative, there are a number of areas to consider, and prepare for, before letting the students bring in their devices:
Examples provided below are from Sir Ernest MacMillan Sr P.S., a pilot BYOD school at the Toronto District School Board. |
Steps for Success
To be successful with a BYOD initiative, schools and districts must prepare well in advance. The following steps may be of help to other schools interested in starting their own BYOD program:
1. Ensure the Staff, Students, Parent/School Council and Superintendent are part of the process from the beginning. Including all stakeholders throughout the development of the program is imperative to success (Afreen, 2014).
1. Ensure the Staff, Students, Parent/School Council and Superintendent are part of the process from the beginning. Including all stakeholders throughout the development of the program is imperative to success (Afreen, 2014).
2. Create a school BYOD/ICT Leadership Committee with staff who will drive the development of the program, and who are interested in both pedagogy and technology. Introduce, and build teacher capacity with resources that focus upon the effective integration of technology into the curriculum.
Use resources such as the 21st Century Competencies, ISTE Standards, Alberta - Learning with Technology, the SAMR Model and others to guide your program.
Use resources such as the 21st Century Competencies, ISTE Standards, Alberta - Learning with Technology, the SAMR Model and others to guide your program.
3. Prepare the infrastructure as needed. One of the biggest issues for BYOD is poor connectivity. Make sure the school has an wireless audit completed and has the proper connectivity in place, otherwise it will lead to frustration and will reduce the ultimate success of the program. (Parsons and Adhikar, 2015).
The image on the right is an example of a wireless audit from MacMillan Sr. P.S. A district technology team came to the school and determined the most optimum locations for the wireless routers.
4. Develop and share the necessary "Acceptable Use" policies to meet the school district's online agreements and any unique features from the school. (Parsons and Adhikari, 2015)
Click here for sample BYOD policies to help you get started.
Click here for sample BYOD policies to help you get started.
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Here is an example of a BYOD video which was used to introduce the BYOD program to students at MacMillan.
References
Afreen, R. (2014, January/February). Bring your own device (BYOD) in higher education: opportunities and challenges.
Hockly, N. (2012, October). Tech-savvy teaching: BYOD. Modern English Teacher, 21(4), 44-45.
Parsons, D., & Adhikari, J. (2015, September). The ups and downs of BYOD: a sociocultural perspective.
Raths, D. (2012, October). Are You Ready for BYOD? T H E Journal., 39(4), 28-32.
Hockly, N. (2012, October). Tech-savvy teaching: BYOD. Modern English Teacher, 21(4), 44-45.
Parsons, D., & Adhikari, J. (2015, September). The ups and downs of BYOD: a sociocultural perspective.
Raths, D. (2012, October). Are You Ready for BYOD? T H E Journal., 39(4), 28-32.