Planning for Bring Your Own Device

BYOD as the Path to 1:1 Computing

The Department of Education’s National Education Technology Plan (NETP) lays out as a clear aspiration for public education that “all students and educators will have access to a comprehensive [technological] infrastructure for learning when and where they need it.” Towards this end, the NETP recommends that every student and teacher have at least one Internet access device – in other words, that 1:1 computing become the standard for all schools.

Given the costs of 1:1 computing, which have been estimated to be at least $250 per student per year (and to range as high as $1,000 per student per year), such a standard could remain merely aspirational for many school districts. Enter Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives, which seek to harness the prevalence of personal devices such as smartphones and tablets among students – often a cause of disruption and contention in schools – by incorporating them into the instructional program, and simultaneously reducing the technology hardware and maintenance costs that the district must bear. The NETP itself recognizes the importance of BYOD, suggesting that its 1:1 goal could be met with devices “owned by the student or family, owned by the school, or some combination of the two.”  

Preparing for the Implementation of BYOD

However, implementing BYOD is easier said than done – schools cannot simply invite students to start bringing their iPhones into the classroom and be done with it. Aside from the fundamental question of whether a district should adopt BYOD, which of course must be carefully considered, there are a variety of issues that any district committed to BYOD will face, and without proper planning, “BYOD may not work as people had hoped.” To get a sense of what school districts considering BYOD should be planning for, Hanover Research recently studied the issue and identified some key implementation guidelines.

Acceptable/Responsible Use Policies: Acceptable use policies are nothing new for most school districts, but the introduction of student-owned devices to the official network raises new concerns and challenges. At a minimum, districts will need to review their existing policies to ensure that they adequately address the risks posed by student-owned devices. However, some experts are recommending the adoption of “responsible use” policies, which focus less on punishing poor behavior and more on encouraging appropriate behavior. A key element of the “responsible use” approach is “educat[ing] students about online safety and security,” and equipping teachers with the skills to do so through professional development.

Professional Development: As the advent of responsible use policies suggests, BYOD will bring new responsibilities and opportunities for teachers. However, they must be prepared with professional development on how to handle the challenges of 1:1 computing in the classroom and on how to exploit the opportunities. In one anecdote, a school equipped each classroom with five iPads, but neglected to train the teachers in their use – teachers who didn’t know how to operate the devices, much less incorporate them into their teaching, ended up letting students use them for game-playing.

Technological Infrastructure: BYOD relieves districts from purchasing and maintaining a great deal of computing hardware, but it places its own new strains on a school’s IT infrastructure. According to IT firm CDW’s 2011 survey of school IT managers, “most schools spend a year (or more)” preparing their infrastructure for the demands of a BYOD program. Chief among these is the need for an adequate wireless network, including both adequate bandwidth and enough access points to handle the projected load of devices – many schools must upgrade their bandwidth, add new access points, or simply rebuild the network entirely.

BYOD remains somewhat controversial, not least because of the equity concerns it raises, and the initial decision on whether to adopt BYOD or not may remain the most difficult BYOD issue a district will face. But those districts that have committed to BYOD, whether out of necessity or desire, should not underestimate the range of issues and the planning involved in preparing for its successful implementation.