There is a lot of literature and discussion around the benefits and how best to incorporate BYOD (bring your own devices) into the classroom. The implicit assumption is a lot of these articles and paper is that it institutionally supplied devices are not feasible. I feel that attitude is akin to giving up. The best future for devices in the classroom is a future where said devices are purpose built and institutionally supplied. Below is a short presentation on the topic (here are my slides), I hope you enjoy and do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions.
(A3) Say Not to BYOD: School-Provided Mobile Devices in the Classroom
14 responses to “(A3) Say Not to BYOD: School-Provided Mobile Devices in the Classroom”
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Hello Stephen,
You raise an important issue is current in many of the schools that I have TOCed at. The idea of BYOD raises some issues with the amount of equity in the school, especially with students from low SES families. The idea of school provided technology is something that I would be extremely interested in, but it does not seem completely viable in today’s day and age.
I find the solution to be best in a hybrid model in where there is a choice between BYOD and school provided laptops. I have worked in schools where BYOD is the sole method for students to access technology as well as schools where the students only use school provided laptops. Both setups had their own merits, but a BYOD heavy classroom with access to school provided laptops seems to be the best setup for me.
I love the idea of a desk that has technology incorporated in it, but it seems that it would limit the students to only be able to work on the table space without being able to be mobile with their learning methods. Not the mention that I like to have a classroom with options for sitting such as a standing table or a low table. I would imagine that this sort of desk would only allow for standard seating and thus would be difficult to differentiate for students with any sensory needs. Also, I would be concerned about the amount of work that they will be able to take home. I believe that technology should be something teach as well as something that we use to teach so that they will be able to use a powerful tool in their daily lives. With a computer that is attached to a table or a school-based laptop, I would question how the students would adapt to this in their home lives as well as being able to work on their assignments at home. Lastly, school provided technology seems to be more inflexible as if it were in a computer lab, then it would be difficult to book it if multiple students would want to use it at the same time, and if it were in every classroom, then it would be hard not to use it as the school would likely have used a lot of their funding to provide the setup for every classroom.
Your points on cloud computing would also encourage the idea of BYOD. With my students, I find that with Microsoft Teams and OneDrive, the students are able to use any computer around and still have access to the same number of documents. My current setup in my class is that the students are able to bring their own devices, but can use the few school provided laptops that I have in case their own laptop loses battery or there is some technological failure.
With the customizability of technology and the need to take it on the go, I feel like BYOD will be hard to replace due multiple factors and thus technology incorporated desks would be hard to squeeze into public school classrooms.
Hi Wynn,
On point of clarity, the “desk” that I am referring to in Ender’s Game is a portable device so it would not be locked in place. I agree with your points, BYOD is entrenched in the thinking of administration today because it seems like the only feasible solution given current budget trends and spending. It will take a paradigm shift of the order that SpaceX has done for spaceflight for this concept to become a reality in my opinion. Something like the Gates Foundation would need to decide, “we are building this and making it affordable and will seed them out into the world” to drive this change.
Hi Stephen
Thanks for your response! I would image it to be a giant tablet then? That would be something extremely engaging if it’s possible to use it on multiple surfaces such as in front of a whiteboard or over a map of the country. This technology would definitely need traction to catch on. I think something that was a bit similar were smartboards, but the schools that invested in them were unable to use the technology to its fullest potential and it was discarded after that. I would think that companies such as google could test out these products in their experimental tech classrooms.
Hello Stephen,
I appreciate your A3 topic as it has been a hot issue for quite a while in schools. I previously worked at a school where our staff had a debate on if it would be better to purchase Chromebooks or iPads for updated classroom technology.
I have not seen or read Ender’s Game but seeing your possible futuristic school device gave me flashbacks of the classroom scene in the futuristic film, Starship Troopers (1997) where every student had a personal device locked into their desk, I remember being blown away and jealous of the characters having that sort of technology back then (http://www.upcomingvfxmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/starship_troopers_01_ipad.jpg).
To speak from my own experience, I had attended Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada (many years ago) where a perk of the university was that every student (and professor) was supplied with the exact same laptop (an IBM Thinkpad) that was to be used for school work. The university had a tech support office and phone number to call for technical issues, the laptops were traded in and replaced at the end of each year, and every classroom was setup with docking stations custom to that specific laptop. The whole system worked beautifully! There was no formatting, cable, synchronizing issues of any kind because everyone had the same computer! I recall that the only problem was that all the laptops looked the same so it was easy to get them mixed up during a group project or study session.
Over the years there have already been instances of schools running with students being provided with their own device but the overall issue has (and probably will always be) money (https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-ipads-schools-20140101-story.html). Who is responsible for paying replacement or repair fees? What happens to devices after students graduate? What form of tech support with schools have? (unfortunately, it often falls on individual teachers that are the most experienced with technology that are relied upon to support everyone else on top of their teaching responsibilities)
If students are expected to share devices, I often find that students forget to log out of their e-mail and other accounts which leads to privacy breaches and work being deleted that was meant to be kept or work that may not have been deleted from a previous student that is now in possession of someone else.
Another big topic, where do we draw the line as far as blocking student access to content or tools? For example, Google Classroom is an amazing way for teachers to run their class online but many districts (including the one I currently teach in) ban it’s usage because it violates FOIPPA policies for privacy protection (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/policies-for-government/bcea-policy-and-procedure-manual/foippa/information-privacy-and-security-foippa). As a resolution to this issue our district actually financed the creation of their own version of an online platform but unfortunately it is ripe with technical issues that creates more frustration than convenience. It also used up funding to create something that already exists that could have been spent on something else.
Supplying every student with their own device seems like such a simple solution but it is going to require a lot of financing, planning and support to run successfully within schools.
Privacy and security of online services is my daily burden! The team I manage at UBC is responsible for centrally supporting and maintaining the centrally supported learning tools. Trying to figure out means and alternatives to getting these predominantly American services compliant, especially in BC with is the toughest of the tough in terms of privacy laws for students, is a non-trivial challenge but doable. It is getting better!
Hi Stephen:
I am quite impressed that you were able to compress that much information into such a short segment. I am glad that you have taken a direct stance in this matter, since it will be the one of the biggest issues to deal with concerning technology in the classroom. Who should pay? I can see both sides (BYOD and school provided equipment) having merit, but such a question should be considered especially since it pertains to the digital divide. Not every student will be able to afford this equipment, nor will every school either. Who provides the funding? This is an excellent policy agenda item for the education sector.
Thanks Brittany,
The first take I did recording the presentation was 20 minutes long after editing as much as I could. So, unless you wanted to hear me as a chipmunk at high speeds, I had to take a much more assertive stance and drop a lot of background, exploration of alternatives, and justifications and just drive to my point! Which is probably a reason for some of the guiding principles of these shorter assignments.
Hi Stephen,
Great post. I currently work at two schools. One school provides a Chromebook for each student in grades 4 to 7; each class set remains at the school. The other school is a BYOD. One anecdote from the BYOD school. I couldn’t help but think about this about this. A student brought in a tablet which I wasn’t familiar with, and it was the first time it was brought into the school. There was just too much friction to them up and running, and as the class progressed. It ruined the flow of the lesson and activity. Compared to my other school, the Chromebooks remain at school, and they just work.
I really like the idea behind the “purpose built device,” especially the Teacher Control. There’s always a handful of students that end up playing games during lessons and activities.
I had to look up “roll-able” screens, and I found this by LG, https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/01/lg-claims-its-rollable-screen-smartphone-is-coming-early-this-year/. Though, I just heard in the past day or two that LG is no longer going to produce phones.
Cloud computing with Google Classroom and the online portfolio of Seesaw have been a game changer for me. With Google Classroom, I haven’t needed to hand out paper all year for my grades 5 6 7 classes. Seesaw, prior to covid, was great for music class, if there was a stand out performance, or something fun and spontaneous happened in class, I was able to record ti and upload quickly for parents to see.
With Educator Education, that is large hurdle to overcome for many educators. Thankfully, I was already comfortable with the Google environment before my schools started to embrace them, but many of my colleagues still struggle with the nuances of technology. One of my school hired a company to set-up our technology, however, they’re lacking the mindset of an educator. Teachers like to do certain things due assessment, giving feedback, and preparing report cards which creates a bit of confusion for both parties.
I really enjoyed your assignment and I connected with a lot of points. I’m looking forward to the future for this area. Each student having the same device at school really makes things easier: less friction, more flow to the lesson and activity, and the ability to connect to the world anywhere with cloud computing.
Thanks!
Mark
Thank you for your comments and experiences Mark, I am not a educator myself but between my kids and my experience as a educational technologist, these experiences do not surprise me.
Stephen,
I really enjoyed your presentation arguing for why schools should/could supply mobile devices for educational use in the future. Especially given the universal concern of data privacy I think your solution is effective and equitable. Throughout the course of the semester a lot of the information presented failed to address the question of who would be providing the technology that we have found additional ways to create learning opportunities with, or defaulted to BYOD and the limitations that come with it. As you outlined, having a school supply mobile devices is by no means without its challenges but it does allow for the mitigation of concerns regarding privacy, distraction, and equity.
While you did mention that internet coverage within campuses doesn’t seem to be a problem, I do wonder how you would address the use of school supplied mobile devices for field trips, outdoor lab, etc. Were you imagining that these cloud computing “desks”– by the way, I loved the ode to Ender’s Game– would be used solely in a classroom setting, or would the designed to be utilized by students inside and outside of the classroom? Could students take them home to assist with the completion of homework? Could they utilize them on field trips to benefit from AR technologies like those described in mine and Wendy Mulligan’s A3s? If so, would they be cellular data enabled and potentially benefit from 5G technologies? I would imagine use of AR software would require increased device storage, processing power, data speeds, and may increase the amount of personal data recorded.I would love to hear your thoughts!
I decided I should probably include links to the other A3s I referenced:
Wendy Mulligan’s A3- Mobile AR in Elementary School: https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec523/2021/04/02/a3-mobile-ar-in-elementary-education/#comment-4470
My A3 on MOOCs for Field Sciences (using AR): https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec523/2021/04/03/a3-moocs-for-field-sciences/
Thank you Dana, I did, indeed gloss over the networking infrastructure. Free wifi at public institutions is become more and more common and really, the bandwidth requirements of an active classroom will not require 5G. The only worry I have is the crazy expensive mobile data in Canada. In a lot of other countries, it would be a small budget item to have all school owned devices have mobile data enough to make these devices universally portable but in Canada, today, that is not the case.
Great presentation Stephen,
I can see so many benefits of specialized devices being universally used in schools or online learning environments for students of all ages. I have encountered the challenges of student devices in both in-person and online contexts with young students an have often find myself thinking of what improvements can be made in those times of frustration. I particularly like your point of a class of devices that can be controlled by the teacher to push websites, open or close applications. One of the challenges teaching grade one in person (and online) is trying to get all of them onto a website. Logging in, finding the internet, typing in the website and finally logging into the site can take some students the entire class time, leaving no time to engage in the learning activity. If teachers were able to “push” the desired website to each device, we could by-pass the (painful) process of accessing the sites.
Another good point you made was in equity and universality. having switched to online learning this year, I have noticed a stark difference in students’ ability to complete work and participate in class depending on the type of device they are using. In terms of equity, some students have the latest-and-greatest computers, headphones, speakers and support at home that makes online learning significantly more attainable for them. Others attend class on a cellphone or tablet, making it difficult to see them, difficult for them to see me and the materials being displayed and some of the necessary functions of an online classroom simply do not work on those devices. If all students, online or in-person, we to use the same device, this would eliminate many of the issues faces by teachers and students.
Thank you for your comments Erin, the potential of being able to push content, launch applications, “looking over the shoulder”, and more are what I find the most intriguing about this idea and really, that is all just software that could be done today if there was money and will.