The Brutal Authenticity of B.Y.O.D

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The article – The Brutal Authenticity of B.O.Y.D. which stands for “Bring your own Device” to the classroom which can be their own Apps, Accounts and Tech-Wise Patterns. Found this to be of much value and relevant to the modern classroom for the following reasons;

1.The students have an important opportunity to connect with not just their personal lives but their natural way of doing things.  They are not limited in what they can do with assignments I as an Instructor give them to do after school.

2. In classrooms in the past there was unfamiliar software, unfamiliar hardware, and unfamiliar workflows which are real barriers to a students performance and hinders “instructional time”.  These barriers are not present when the students bring their own BYOD and this makes instruction run smoother and is more efficient.

3. By Schools allowing students to bring their own devices where staff install separate wireless networks that offered filtered internet access.  When the teachers are trained in the proper use of this technology and have some ground rules for accessing sites that the students will be using in the classroom.  The experiences of the School and the Teachers after this has been put in place is that it has worked well.  By being open to innovation and change plus working “Outside the Box” – it has become apparent this is beneficial for both students and teachers.

4.  Teachers allow themselves to become collaborators with the students in the learning process.  When students first bring in their technology devices, there are immediately engaged and want to explore all of the possible capabilities of the technology.  This initial phase of exploration passes quickly as the students become more literate in their devices and learn how to connect them to their BYOD wireless network.  The Teacher and the Students then begin to adapt their technologies to their current classroom practices.

CONCLUSION

• The opportunities for me as an Instructor/Facilitator would be more connection with the Students in the material that I am teaching.
• The opportunities for Students would be the mobility of using their own devices at home and in the classroom.
• All of the examples in my blog definitely fall under “Student Centred Approaches in their Learning.
• Personally, I have seen the positive use of High School Students using their devices in the classroom and can see this approach becoming more popular and relevant in the near future.
• The cost savings that the School Boards and Schools have in not purchasing Computers for Classrooms is an added benefit.

WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS/COMMENTS?