Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Here is an interesting trend that is happening with technology in education. Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) These trends are being seen nationally in technology surveys. The average age of a smartphone is 18 months…home computer/laptop is 48 months…the typical home computer is newer and faster than the typical school computer and that trend will not reverse. Students and teachers own better learning technology than what we can make available to them in school. With these personalized learning tools, students and teachers can be more effective learners and instructors. Concerns that it can create: · Equity (kids without computers) - the have vs. the have not · Pedagogy (instruction strategy) · Policy (AUP) language and Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) · Technical (no wireless access) - Adding Wifi or allowing Cell 3G or4G service · Device options (which devices to allow) - Smart Phones, Pads, Tablets, Laptops, or Nintendo DS. Schools have already have begun to allow students and teachers to bring their own technology to school. This movement presents both challenges and opportunities for the classroom. This is a trend that we will need to think about as we move forward in education. How will it change your rooms? I just want to put this out for thought and discussion. This way we can start to think about how you see it changing student learning and fitting into our systems. Over the next 12 months we will be working on updating our district technology plan. While we do that, we will want to address how this will fit into the technology plan that takes us into the future.