Recently, Ann Richards, our school, has started the BYOD policy. BYOD means “bring your own device.” The school started

to let us bring our own devices so we could have a bit more freedom in school, to learn how to use it appropriately, and increase the positive use of technology in the classroom. Also then we won’t have to go through the process of using a school laptop or iPad. Those devices usually don’t work or take a lot of time to load, wasting our class time. Also our school noticed even before we started the BYOD policy how much we were using our own devices to do homework, projects, and class work. We decided to write this blog about the BYOD policy, to help everyone understand it. Below, we made a list of Pros and Cons on the BYOD policy.

Pros: Student can bring their own device and not have to rely on the devices at school to work Students can work on homework and things that require to be on the internet at times other than class These devices are more portable than the devices in the classrooms. Researchers found that 81% of Generation Z (our generation) prefers to connect wirelessly 73% of Generation Z majority use social network to connect with others Research has also showed that 22% of students at ages 6-9, 60% of students 10-14, and 80% of students 15-18 years old, own a cell phone Cost effective- schools don’t need to provide as much technology and they don’t need to update their technology as often as they do Things can be accessed at home and school with less difficulty

Cons: The students are able to go to restricted websites because of 4g. Easy to get distracted Too many people on the school’s wifi will make it laggier Some people might not have a device while others have more than 1 “MBTY-mine is better than yours” Some of the students who don’t have the newest things might feel left out while other have the newest and they tend to brag about it. This can lead to bullying and no one wants that. Kids spend 7 and 1/2 hours everyday on their electronics By the time kids go to college, they will have seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV, which will desensitise them to violence

 

Because of the obviously abundance of pros with the BYOD policy, our school decided to allow the policy. As this is a new thing at our school, there needed to be a few rules. Students should definitely have guidelines to using those devices, because otherwise, things could get out of control.

Guidelines:

• Make sure students set security passwords to prevent hacking and theft.
• Specify what social media sites are allowed.
• Allow teachers to say whether students are allowed to use devices in class that day.
• Set specific times students are NOT allowed to use their devices.
• Make clear that if students get caught disobeying these rules, they will have their phones taken away.

The BYOD policy will really be beneficial to the students of Ann Richards. That is because we will be able to research without having to grab a laptop. Students will be able to use the flashcards on their phones, which will help studying become much easier. Language teachers can use websites like Kahoot to help students learn, and those websites require iPods and iPhones. If one of us needs to contact our parents, it is easy to, because they already have their phones on their person. Plus, when students are working in a group, they can easily communicate when not at school, because of their phones. The BYOD policy will also allow students to be more prepared when they beginning working in the 21st century, because workplaces everywhere use devices constantly.

Being in GTT (Gateway To Technology) we have to use technology for all our classwork. This can range from taking photos and videos to writing a blogpost, like we are doing now. This policy would help us accomplish our goals in less time with the same amount of quality. We can take our work home with us more often if we were compelled to do so. This policy is greatly needed and we can take advantage of it in class every day.

We have been using this policy in the classroom for about a week now, and so far, everything has been going smoothly. Projects are much easier to do, and the atmosphere of the classrooms are much better. We are all really excited about the policy, and we hope you will be too. So thanks for reading!

Darby Buscemi, Allegra Green, Bryana Sanchez, and Alyssa Infante

Work Cited:

InformED. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2014. <http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/trends/bring-your-own-device-byod-10-reasons-why-its-a-good-idea/#ixzz3Eu97qB77&gt;.