"BYOD isn't a recommendation, it's a realty. Everyone's bought one and everyone uses one and everyone carries it around with them. When we organise a meeting or conference, we don't send people an email telling them what device to bring, neither do we buy or lease a whole load of computers and hand them out."
via @DonaldClark
"As more schools open their networks and classrooms to student-owned devices, the need for instruction that makes the most of these tools becomes ever more pronounced. Transitioning to a truly 21st century learning environment is challenging, to be sure.
While helping districts through this process, I've noticed a pattern in the challenges they must - and do - overcome. Adapting effectively to a bring-your-own-device and digital learning environment is far easier for districts if they follow these strategies."
A web app that searches for a photo on a theme of your choice, allows you to choose one, then provides the structure for you to write a haiku based on it ... and attributes the photo for you!
As companies debate the merits of allowing employees to bring their own smartphones and computers to work, another sector is forging ahead allowing a younger generation to do just that and more.
Some schools are not only allowing students to bring laptops and tablets to class in keeping with the trend known as BYO device or BYOD, they are also outsourcing technical support to the students themselves.
I've been thinking and reading about what it would be like to teach a (math) class in a school with a Bring Your Own Device policy.
My answer: "My class will teach the world what they learn with me. Everything will be accessible online and on a mobile device."
Here's what I would set up:
There is a big difference between having a BYOD policy and a BYOD learning environment. The former lays the foundation for a BYOD learning environment but it by no means guarantees it.
In order to shift from a school with a BYOD policy to a school with a BYOD learning environment, mindset shifts need to occur organizationally:
From an industry point of view but...
Letting your employees use their personal mobile devices for work makes them leap for joy - they literally love their iPads, iPhones, Droids, BlackBerrys, Galaxies and other devices of choice. Research shows it also makes them more productive and increases their engagement with the workplace, including after hours.
On the other hand, the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) phenomenon opens doors to all sorts of tricky issues so it's important to plan ahead.
I have been hearing more and more about BYOD or "bring your own device" on Twitter and in the blogs and educational news sources I read. It seems to be a growing trend in the business world too. Yet, the controversy around this idea seems almost as large as the hype. BYO is not a novel concept for restaurants or even schools when it comes to basic supplies (everyone can remember being asked to bring that box of crayons or later your composition notebook) but apparently devices are a different story.
Do you dream of a world where you have your choice of laptop, smartphone or tablet at work; all of which connect seamlessly one to another, and are constantly updated?
Sitting at your desk, feeling the red mist descend as your ancient XP desktop computer tries and fails to open your inbox, this might seem like an impossible dream. But for some people that day is already here.
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But there could be a catch.
"Proponents of "bring your own device" (BYOD) programs like them for a lot of reasons: budgets keep dwindling, students already bring devices to school, and technology isn't getting cheaper. "People are saying 'It's happening in the real world. Let's mirror that in our schools," says Lucy Gray, project director ofthe Leadership for Mobile Learning (LML) initiative at CoSN, the Consortium for School Networking.
But this article isn't meant to convince readers to try BYOD. It's about how to make it work once you've decided it's the way to go. Here are the methods three districts took to make BYOD happen."
This is both an interesting tool, (ProCon List) and representation of some of the arguments around BYOD. Though a few months old most of the key points still hold.