Making use of the technology many students bring to
class each day is a touchy subject. Many educators view it as a distraction and
even more see it as unfair to those students who cannot afford electronic
gadgets, such as an iPhone or Kindle. But that could be changing.
Eric Sheninger, principal of New Milford High School in
New Jersey and education writer for The Huffington Post, makes a case for the
idea of “Bring Your Own Technology” in a SmartBlog post, claiming a
BYOT program is a way to “leverage a variety of devices that many students
already have.” His school piloted a BYOT initiative for seniors, and then
expanded it because he felt the program provided real value for both students
and teachers.
Sheninger found that students need to view their devices
as mobile learning tools and that the school had to adopt language to promote
that notion. It’s also important to have professional development and resources
available to teachers so they can create lessons specifically connected to the
device.
The New Milford BYOT program increased access to
technology and encouraged students to use their devices for educational
purposes outside the classroom. Acceptable-use policies were required, but it
was found those policies could be aligned with policies already in place a
school’s discipline code.
In addition, Sheninger knows equity is a
large issue facing BYOT and agrees schools should provide for all. But he also considers it an excuse for not moving forward.
“Instead of bashing BYOT and saying how and why it
won’t work or is unfair, we would be best served to brainstorm ways in which it
can become an educational component of our schools,” he wrote. “The excuses to
write off BYOT only serve to undermine the students that we are tasked with educating.”
