Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in K-12 Schools

Amy C. Lane
TLED 530
December 7, 2014
Old Dominion University

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in K-12 Schools

The idea of having students bringing their own mobile devices into the classroom is a
new trend taking hold of classrooms across the nation. These devices include but are not limited
to iPads, smartphones, iPods, tablets, E-Readers, and Laptops (Ackerman and Krupp, 2012). The
idea is that BYOD promotes student collaboration, saves time and money for teachers and school
divisions, and broadens the horizons of learning to reach beyond the classroom. BYOD is a new,
exciting way to integrate technology into lessons but is met with questions and resistance from
principals, teachers, and parents (Suarez, 2012).
To many educators, this trend is terrifying. Tracy Gibson, principal of a private day
school in Southwest Virginia, stated I spend most of my day counseling teachers on ways to
help get these devices out of the classroom, not in. I cant believe this is a real trend. To some,
it is an exciting new way to integrate technology into their lessons without having to acquire the
technology and train their students on how to use it. Sarah Hayden, Special Education Teacher
in Virginia, states I fell in love with the BYOD movement. My students are ready to learn and
comfortable with their own technology. It is working great for me.
As with any new technology integration trend, BYOD raises concerns from
administrators, teachers, and other professionals. One concern is that not all students will be able
to acquire a device to bring to class with them. The responsibility to provide these devices falls
on the school system and with constant budget cuts in the area of education, administrators must
ask themselves if they are ready to accept this responsibility. However, when compared to the
price of a classroom set of tablets, laptops, or a full computer lab, purchasing three or four simple
devices for a handful of underprivileged students is the obviously less expensive option
(Crompton, 2013).
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Administrators and teachers also question if students will be able to handle the freedom
of having their personal device available to them during crucial learning hours in the classroom.
These professionals are concerned about inappropriate usage of the devices when students are to
be working on classwork. This is where teachers, parents, and administrators must fall on the
same page and decide to allow some freedoms of having their own devices while setting clear
guidelines and expectations to the BYOD program. BYOD will require that teachers pay close
attention to each students individual classroom performance to ensure that set rules and
expectations are being honored (10 Reasons to Consider BYOD in Education, 2012).
Security is often at the forefront of the resistance against BYOD initiatives. School
divisions often feel that they cannot keep their students and information safe while implementing
the BYOD program. To remedy this, school divisions have turned to options such as separate
wireless networks for students. In their article Five Components to Consider for
BYOT/BYOD authors Amy S. Ackerman and Melissa L. Krupp (2012) suggest that there are
plenty means of additional security for school divisions when facing BYOD. They suggest using
security codes for email, iCloud or web based programs such as Dropbox or Evernote. Google
docs and other free web 2.0 tools are also an option to be considered for added security
(Ackerman and Krupp, 2012).
Also to be considered is the idea that implementing BYOD puts more responsibilities on
teachers shoulders than they can handle. Taking initiative to bring BYOD to life in the
classroom is a challenging task but teachers must rise to the challenge of preparing their students
for a life outside of school, a life that often requires knowledge of appropriate digital citizenship,
knowledge of current devices and programs, and an element of comfort with new and changing

ideas and technologies. After all, teachers must ask themselves if they are working to prepare
their students for the past, or striving to prepare them for the future (Crompton, 2013).
To provide students with optimal learning, one must offer a school structure where real,
rigor, and relevant learning occurs at all times. One way to achieve this goal is to break the
barriers between students/teachers and his/her learning (Ackerman and Krupp, 2012).
Implementation of BYOD in the classroom breaks such barriers by allowing electronic devices
to move away from being a taboo item to becoming assets to learning. By using BYOD
programs, the classroom becomes more student focused and less device focused because the
technology (device) is already present as most students have at least one mobile device, they are
most likely comfortable with their own device and have personalized settings to make use easier
for their individual needs, and are already knowledgeable on the application of such devices
because students use these devices in their everyday life (Ackerman and Krupp, 2012).
According to Linda Suarez (2012), teachers spend almost 30% of their instructional time
training students on how to use given technologies in the classroom. Bring Your Own Device
initiatives allows teachers to cut that training time drastically because of the students acquired
knowledge of their own personal device, giving teachers the freedom to better engage students
and better integrate collaborative technology into their lessons. Student interest is also piqued by
BYOD. Students are 79% more likely to take notice of an assignment/lesson that allows them to
use their personal device rather than an assignment/lesson that involves a school computer or
does not involve technology use at all (10 Reasons to Consider BYOD in Education, 2012). This
is due to the fact that students are able to better collaborate with one another when BYOD is
implemented in their classroom. Students are going to text, email, and instant message each
other every day and it is a method of communication that their generation is becoming most
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comfortable with, so why not encourage students to use these methods of communication to
brainstorm about an assignment, or to quiz one another about specific information. Websites
such as Google+ and ExamTime partner wonderfully with BYOD by promoting student
collaboration. These websites and dozens more like them allow students to create online study
groups, share study materials, and create note cards, study guides and even their own graphic
organizers. Also helpful are applications such as Think Through Math, an online program that
tutors students in real time. The possibilities for student collaboration as well as teacher/student
support are numerous with the use of Bring Your Own Device (10 Reasons to Consider BYOD
in Education, 2012).
In conclusion, the question of are teachers working to prepare their students for the past
or the future is posed once again. The answer lies in preparation for the future. Educators must
understand and welcome new visions and ideas into their classrooms at all times, always
prepared to take the next step to ensure the success of their students in an ever changing world.
BYOD implementation, with its eyebrow raising and boundary crossing suggestions has pros
that far outweigh its cons. It is one of the many ways to prepare students for the world outside of
their classroom doors and to ensure that they are appropriately armed with knowledge of every
day technology and academic technology to move them successfully to the next assignment, next
grade level, or next career promotion.

References
10 Reasons to Consider BYOD in Education. (2012, December 12). Retrieved November 14,
2014, from www.teachthought.com
Ackerman, A., & Krupp, M. (2012). Five Components to Consider for BYOT/BYOD.
International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age, 35-41.
Retrieved October 13, 2014, from ERIC.
Blazer, C. (2012). Social Networking in schools: Benefits and Risks; Review of the Research;
Policy Considerations; and Current Practices. Information Capsule, 1109(4), 1-18.
Retrieved November 1, 2014, from ERIC.
Crompton, H. (2013). The Benefits and Challenges of Mobile Learning. Learning and Leading
With Technology.
Suarez, L. (2012). Influence of Technology on the Leadership of 21st Century Career and
Technical Education Administrators. 165-192.