Aubrey E.

Pace
February 25, 2018
LLT 540
Professor Perkins

Management Article Synthesis: Managing the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Initiative

In the article “Managing BYOD Effectively,” Williams (2012) discusses the Bring Your

Own Device (BYOD) initiative as an alternative to one-to-one technology programs and the

management of the BYOD movement. One reason for the BYOD alternative is to provide a low-

cost method of technology access in schools. Overall, the BYOD movement has proven to be a

success for the several schools discussed in the article. This initiative is easier to manage from an

information technology perspective, as students are able to troubleshoot their own devices.

Students access the Internet via the school Wi-Fi on their personal devices. The school networks

have firewalls installed to prevent hacking of the students’ devices. An additional point discussed

was proof of a low theft rate, as students exhibit a respect for their peers’ devices.

In “School Librarians: Key to Technology Integration,” Kuzo (2015) discusses the

technology program utilized in the Quakertown Community School District, which begins in the

ninth grade. The district enforces a hybrid model that provides district laptops, as well as an

option for students to use and support their own personal devices. This has become a success

because, although the majority of students utilize district-provided laptops, the district has

witnessed an increase in BYOD with minimal issues (including students who transition from

one-to-one to BYOD). The support for both technology initiatives is mainly achieved by library

media specialists—instead of hiring a technical team. Maintenance for both initiatives by the

library media specialists includes providing technical support, achieving ease of access to online
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content for both students and teachers, and collaborate with teachers to co-teach topics based on

Internet safety, copyright/plagiarism, and credible sources.

In the article “BYOD,” Marcoux (2014) explains how BYOD is being practiced today

and how the practice will evolve in the future. Insight and steps based on how to manage a

BYOD school are provided. BYOD schools need to keep in mind cross-platform functionality, as

some students may bring Windows devices to school, while others may bring MacBooks.

Another concern is privacy. It is advised to have a network set up where schools can monitor

what students are sending to each other. An added bonus is parents can become involved with the

monitoring of these devices. One advantage to BYOD is all students can act as the technical

support team. The school library can serve as the center for assistance to occur. An additional

advantage to BYOD is the ability to teach digital citizenship. Issues such as sexting and

cyberbullying can be prevented. Through digital citizenship instruction, students will be

encouraged to communicate in a nice, civil way on their devices.

Considering the commonalities and differences between the three articles, there are a

number of notable connections. All three articles discuss BYOD with positive results—one result

being that it is a cost-saving initiative. One factor that contributes to the savings is who acts as

the technical support team. The articles discuss how there is no need to hire as many information

technology staff to support such an initiative; students and librarians are two groups that serve as

their own technical support teams. One reason for this, for instance, is because students are

familiar with their own devices; therefore, they are able to troubleshoot on their own.

Additionally, in the articles by Kuzo (2015) and Marcoux (2014), digital citizenship and safety
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are emphasized as topics that are taught and learned by implementing the BYOD movement.

Students are more encouraged to protect themselves and act respectfully towards one another—

and how to do so when utilizing personal computers.

One notable difference between the articles is how technology programs are implemented

in the article by Kuzo compared with Williams and Marcoux. In the Quakertown Community

School District, students are given the option to either use district laptops or bring their own

devices. The article states how most students choose to use district laptops, but eventually there

was an increase in students selecting BYOD (Kuzo, 2015). In the other articles, there is a sole

focus on BYOD. Within the same article by Kuzo (2015), another difference is the emphasis on

school librarians serving as technical support. It is stressed how district laptops and BYOD

devices, both, receive support from school librarians in terms of technical help, education, and

more. Within the other two articles, students are viewed to serve as technical support for one

another.

The BYOD initiative is a great technology program to pursue for schools looking to be

innovative and future-ready, while saving money at the same time. Managing BYOD allows for

cost savings because schools will be utilizing resources that are already present. In addition,

there is not as much of a need to hire “professional” technology staff. BYOD allows for easy

management of technicalities, as students can troubleshoot on their own and assist their peers.

There will also be knowledgeable faculty and staff already present within the school, such as

librarians. Furthermore, managing BYOD better ensures that all technical components within

schools are of quality and up to date. Schools are more aware of their networks, firewalls, Wi-Fi
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connectivity, and other components to ensure students are protected and also able to work with

ease.

Considering my own practice as a hopeful instructional technology specialist, I believe I

would suggest a school to use BYOD if there was a need for a low-cost one-to-one program.

Upon doing so, I would make it a point to utilize the suggestions presented by the articles. I

would ensure the technology infrastructure is high quality, ensuring safety and accessibility for

all students who connect to the school network. I would hire a very minimal number of

professional technology staff; this number would depend on the size of the school/district. I can

imagine this number possibly being no more than three. Regular technical support would be

achieved by a team of students, operated by library media specialists, who would obtain course

credits and valuable knowledge in return. The student team would work with librarians and

teachers to plan and organize school presentations related to topics important to the success of

the BYOD initiative, including digital citizenship and Internet safety. Presentations would also

be prepared for parents and guardians, including an overview of the technology infrastructure in

place and how to monitor activity on the devices at home. Teachers would be encouraged to

utilize technology tools that are Web-based so that students from all types of devices are able to

connect with ease. I would pursue Google Apps for Education within the school/district to better

ensure the utilization of Web-based technologies. All-in-all, I would conduct further research and

work with a professional technology team to ensure the BYOD alternative is as budget-friendly

and effective as possible for all within the school community.

References
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Kuzo, J. (2015). School librarians: Key to technology integration. Knowledge Quest, 44(1), 74-

76. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=

109276635&site=ehost-live&scope=site&authtype=sso&custid=s3915793

Marcoux, E. ". (2014). BYOD. Teacher Librarian, 41(3), 65. Retrieved from http://search.

ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=94736191&site=ehost-

live&scope=site&authtype=sso&custid=s3915793

Williams, C. (2012). Managing BYOD effectively. District Administration, 48(9), 84-85.

Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=

82747798&site=eds-live&scope=site