Blog Post 2 BYOD
I have struggled with what I would love to see happen and what is reality. My wish is to see all students have their own devices, the Wi-Fi in my school fluidly support that many devices, and all the mobile apps will work across both iOS and android platforms. Ha… am I dreaming, or will this really happen? I actually believe that we are on the road to my wish coming true, but the reality is that right now none of my wishes are currently fully realized.
I do have some students who have their own devices, and I have my own devices that I allow my students to use. The difficulties arise when our Wi-Fi is down (which is has been for over two months now) so we have been using my mobile hotspot and my Shaw Go Wi-Fi, not all students come with their own device because either they can’t afford one or their parents don’t want their children bringing them to school, and finding mobile apps that will work the same way on both iOS and Android platforms.
Dixon and Tierney (2012) mention five different models to bringing your own device. After looking at them, I seem to feel a little more confused and worried than I was before. I thought students could just bring their devices and as long as they had Wi-Fi, then everything would be just peachy. NOT. Well, I didn’t think about the problems that could arise anywhere from the cost/availability to how the infrastructure would need to be worked. It is not quite as simple as I thought. A couple of problems I see with the school buying the devices is that a) they would be outdated in a short amount of time, b) they are not the students’ own devices, so therefore the feeling of ownership, personalization, and familiarity wouldn’t be there. The idea of bulk buying for hardware and software is a good idea, however, if I were a parent, I think I would like to make my own choice as to the device I want my child using. I would want my child to have their own device, not one chosen for all the students to use. Of course, having access to some school-based technology plus student personal devices is, in my mind, the best of both worlds. My reasoning for this comes from thinking about the future, of what our students will be faced with when they enter the work force. For my grade threes, it will look vastly different than what it is now. I have no idea what the technological world will look like in ten years when my grade threes will have graduated. All I know is that it is my job to help them to be capable and comfortable in the world of technology. I don’t think teaching them on one type of device is really that beneficial, when we don’t know what will be available to them in the fI feel that it is important for them to be flexible and knowledgeable about various platforms and devices. My students solidified this for me when I watched those students who had their own devices, show other students how to work them. The engagement was palatable. Also, my students have had exposure to laptop PCs, old desktops, my Mac, iPads, iPhones, my smartphone, and android tablets. Not because it was my choice, but because that is what we have to work with. I am amazed at how quickly they have navigated their way around the different platforms and screens. My most technology resistant children are now eager to try more things on different technologies. Why? I think it is because the students who have devices are sharing and showing the ones who do not have their own device how to use them. Also, they know that not all students have their own device so they have to share my devices and those of the students who have their own devices. I have concluded that it is not the device, but the ability to figure out how to use the different devices and platforms and to feel confident in their ability to use different technologies that will benefit students more than anything. Devices change so quickly that it is imperative that our children feel comfortable in the knowledge that they will be able to embrace the ever-changing world of technologies. How many of us have steered away from something because we didn’t feel we were capable? I have. I don’t want my students to do that, I want them to feel empowered to confidently embrace the things in life that may seem challenging. So my answer to all children having generic, one size fits all technologies is, no. Are there more headaches with running/finding apps or programs that will work for all devices? Yes. Can we enable our students to find the programs and apps that will get them to the end result of the activity? I think so. Just as we allow students to choose how they wish to present their findings on an assignment, why not allow them to choose how they get there? Are there going to be problems with some devices that do not have the same capabilities as others? Yes. Are our students capable of finding a way around this? I think so. I know that there are times I have to use my PC, for example, when I am running my Virtual World, because the platform doesn’t work on my Mac. Why should students be limited to just what they can do on their personal device? There are times when they will need to use a different device to achieve their educational goals. Should we have various school-based devices that students can have access to. I think so. You wouldn’t have used an encyclopedia to find the meaning of a word in the old days, so why should we limit our students to one form of technology today? In my view, the use of a personal device is great, but it should not be the end all be all for all educational endeavours.
In conclusion, someone once told me that children who learned the basics of a different language every year from Kindergarten up to about grade six, were way more capable of picking up any language more fluently and easily than those students who learned one or two languages fluently. I think that this analogy fits well with technology. Students will be better equipped to learn and flourish with whatever the future may hold with regard to technology if they have had the opportunity to learn even the “basics” of a variety of technologies. Sean Blanda (2013) states:
“The smartest workers will be able to leverage technology to their
advantage and be able to recognize the big-picture ways to utilize it.
The technology will change. The means of accessing will change.
But strategically implementing it will remain in constant demand
for tomorrow’s workforce.”
References
Blanda, S. (2013). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://99u.com/articles/20696/you-dont-need-to-learn-to-code-other-truths-about-the-future-of-careers
Dixon, B., & Tierney, S. (2012, August 14). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://blogs.msdn.com/b/education/archive/2012/08/15/microsoft-bring-your-own-device-in-schools-whitepaper.aspx
I have struggled with what I would love to see happen and what is reality. My wish is to see all students have their own devices, the Wi-Fi in my school fluidly support that many devices, and all the mobile apps will work across both iOS and android platforms. Ha… am I dreaming, or will this really happen? I actually believe that we are on the road to my wish coming true, but the reality is that right now none of my wishes are currently fully realized.
I do have some students who have their own devices, and I have my own devices that I allow my students to use. The difficulties arise when our Wi-Fi is down (which is has been for over two months now) so we have been using my mobile hotspot and my Shaw Go Wi-Fi, not all students come with their own device because either they can’t afford one or their parents don’t want their children bringing them to school, and finding mobile apps that will work the same way on both iOS and Android platforms.
Dixon and Tierney (2012) mention five different models to bringing your own device. After looking at them, I seem to feel a little more confused and worried than I was before. I thought students could just bring their devices and as long as they had Wi-Fi, then everything would be just peachy. NOT. Well, I didn’t think about the problems that could arise anywhere from the cost/availability to how the infrastructure would need to be worked. It is not quite as simple as I thought. A couple of problems I see with the school buying the devices is that a) they would be outdated in a short amount of time, b) they are not the students’ own devices, so therefore the feeling of ownership, personalization, and familiarity wouldn’t be there. The idea of bulk buying for hardware and software is a good idea, however, if I were a parent, I think I would like to make my own choice as to the device I want my child using. I would want my child to have their own device, not one chosen for all the students to use. Of course, having access to some school-based technology plus student personal devices is, in my mind, the best of both worlds. My reasoning for this comes from thinking about the future, of what our students will be faced with when they enter the work force. For my grade threes, it will look vastly different than what it is now. I have no idea what the technological world will look like in ten years when my grade threes will have graduated. All I know is that it is my job to help them to be capable and comfortable in the world of technology. I don’t think teaching them on one type of device is really that beneficial, when we don’t know what will be available to them in the fI feel that it is important for them to be flexible and knowledgeable about various platforms and devices. My students solidified this for me when I watched those students who had their own devices, show other students how to work them. The engagement was palatable. Also, my students have had exposure to laptop PCs, old desktops, my Mac, iPads, iPhones, my smartphone, and android tablets. Not because it was my choice, but because that is what we have to work with. I am amazed at how quickly they have navigated their way around the different platforms and screens. My most technology resistant children are now eager to try more things on different technologies. Why? I think it is because the students who have devices are sharing and showing the ones who do not have their own device how to use them. Also, they know that not all students have their own device so they have to share my devices and those of the students who have their own devices. I have concluded that it is not the device, but the ability to figure out how to use the different devices and platforms and to feel confident in their ability to use different technologies that will benefit students more than anything. Devices change so quickly that it is imperative that our children feel comfortable in the knowledge that they will be able to embrace the ever-changing world of technologies. How many of us have steered away from something because we didn’t feel we were capable? I have. I don’t want my students to do that, I want them to feel empowered to confidently embrace the things in life that may seem challenging. So my answer to all children having generic, one size fits all technologies is, no. Are there more headaches with running/finding apps or programs that will work for all devices? Yes. Can we enable our students to find the programs and apps that will get them to the end result of the activity? I think so. Just as we allow students to choose how they wish to present their findings on an assignment, why not allow them to choose how they get there? Are there going to be problems with some devices that do not have the same capabilities as others? Yes. Are our students capable of finding a way around this? I think so. I know that there are times I have to use my PC, for example, when I am running my Virtual World, because the platform doesn’t work on my Mac. Why should students be limited to just what they can do on their personal device? There are times when they will need to use a different device to achieve their educational goals. Should we have various school-based devices that students can have access to. I think so. You wouldn’t have used an encyclopedia to find the meaning of a word in the old days, so why should we limit our students to one form of technology today? In my view, the use of a personal device is great, but it should not be the end all be all for all educational endeavours.
In conclusion, someone once told me that children who learned the basics of a different language every year from Kindergarten up to about grade six, were way more capable of picking up any language more fluently and easily than those students who learned one or two languages fluently. I think that this analogy fits well with technology. Students will be better equipped to learn and flourish with whatever the future may hold with regard to technology if they have had the opportunity to learn even the “basics” of a variety of technologies. Sean Blanda (2013) states:
“The smartest workers will be able to leverage technology to their
advantage and be able to recognize the big-picture ways to utilize it.
The technology will change. The means of accessing will change.
But strategically implementing it will remain in constant demand
for tomorrow’s workforce.”
References
Blanda, S. (2013). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://99u.com/articles/20696/you-dont-need-to-learn-to-code-other-truths-about-the-future-of-careers
Dixon, B., & Tierney, S. (2012, August 14). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://blogs.msdn.com/b/education/archive/2012/08/15/microsoft-bring-your-own-device-in-schools-whitepaper.aspx