"BYOD" - Bring Your Own Device to school

By Marion Peña

    What does it mean to "Bring Your own Device" to school and is this something that can benefit our students or can it also sometimes hamper the learning process? In today's blog post I am going to discuss and explore this issue as it is something that many schools have been adopting, especially since schools switched to distance learning during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Is BYOD really such a great idea? Let's delve into this a little bit further.

    BYOD or Bringing Your Own Device to school gives students the option to borrow electronic devices from the school district or bring their own devices in order to access learning resources while at school. The BYOD program is typically banned for younger students and introduced to students ranging anywhere between 8th and 10th grade.  It is believed that allowing students to use technology they are familiar with encourages participation in the classroom. Though I find this to probably hold some merit, I also find that there are some drawbacks to allowing students to bring their own devices instead of utilizing only the devices that the school district can provide the students.

    One of the concerns of this program, and in particular when the district provides a device to its students, is the expense of purchasing these devices  which, as you can imagine, becomes very expensive.  The other factor to consider when providing the devices to the students is the amount of damaged devices that will need to be replaced or repaired throughout the school year.  Many devices come back with damaged screens, broken keyboards and are even completely destroyed due to improper care. These costs can be eliminated when students are allowed to bring their own devices. The district would not be required to purchase as many tablets or laptops. These savings can then be directed towards other technological advancements, such as the acquisition of interactive whiteboards.

    "The advantages of BYOD are certainly worth noting, but opponents claim that these benefits do not outweigh the negatives of this system. The main concern among teachers is that the presence of electronic devices in the classroom will promote distraction on the part of the students. Although certain sites and applications may be blocked, tech-savvy students are likely to find ways around these restrictions." In addition to this there could be issues that arise that concern privacy laws when students are photographing or even at times recording others without their prior permission.  Probably the most significant disadvantage, in my opinion, about the BYOD program is that it will increase the already significant divide between students from high- and lower-income families. While most schools would allow a student to "check-out" a device from the school, it now creates the problem that it is easy to now distinguish the students who bring their own devices and those that are sometimes forced to borrow theirs.  All of the disadvantages mentioned could result in bullying and cyber bullying and not really being focused on the classroom lesson. Teachers would not be able to properly monitor if the student is really on-task or visiting a site that is not appropriate or pertains to the lesson at hand.

In conclusion, the BYOD program sounds ideal in some ways as far as being able to save costs for a school district, but in more ways than one it really shows to possibly have a more negative impact on student learning and productivity. What is your opinion on the BYOD program? Watch the video provided below so you can listen to what others are saying about this issue.

Work Cited:

"Gadgets to school: the benefits and risks of BYOD" by Patricia Bruder from NJEA Review

"Resilient Educator" by the Editorial Team, Tips for Teachers and Classroom Resources, Updated May 2020