The Hidden Traps of BYOD in Education

BYOD, or “bring your own device,” is a topic of frequent discussion in the business realm; but BYOD programs are also gaining momentum in K-12 education. As the phrase implies, in a typical BYOD arrangement, students are permitted to bring electronic devices they already own to school for classroom use. However, the question then arises - what about the student who doesn’t have a personal electronic device? Or the child whose family owns a laptop, but it’s so outdated that it cannot keep pace with those of his or her peers?

Growing up, we can all recall a certain item that you had to have because everyone else, seemingly, did. In fourth grade, at my elementary school, it was an Adidas jacket. You might also remember that the necessary item would quickly change and be forgotten by the following school year.

But these days, what students need socially isn’t a short-term fad or quickly outgrown article of clothing, as was the case with my teal and white coat. Instead, it’s technology access – an enduring, ever-more vital component for social inclusion. Access to the Internet won’t be tossed in the corner of a closet when the following school year begins, said to no longer be “cool.” Instead, year-by-year, technology will only become more important in education, especially as instructional content increasingly becomes digitized. Those who don’t have full access will find themselves left further behind.

BYOD programs in schools highlight that addressing the digital divide is imperative for our entire society. To succeed in our digital world, students need learning that is accessible via digital tools. BYOD programs allow such learning, but only for those who have the right device. In a nation that proclaims equality for all as its key founding principle, we can afford no less than equal digital access for all.

What do you think - Are well-intentioned BYOD initiatives in education further widening the disparity between the have’s and have not’s in terms of essential digital resources? 
 

 

Comments

[Adam]

To facilitate BYOD schools must give students and staff easy but secure access to the school's applications from various devices (including iPads, iPhones, Android devices and Chromebooks), while minimizing the intervention required by IT staff. An ideal solution for such a scenario is Ericom AccessNow, a pure HTML5 RDP client that enables remote users to connect to any RDP host, including Terminal Server (RDS Session Host), physical desktops or VDI virtual desktops – and run their applications and desktops in a browser. AccessNow works natively with Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer (with Chrome Frame plug-in), Firefox and any other browser with HTML5 and WebSockets support.

Download this white paper to learn how a school district is implementing BYOD by capitalizing on innovative clientless HTML5 technology to empower students using Chromebooks and other devices with quick, browser-based access to Windows applications and virtual desktops.

http://www.ericom.com/wp-chromebook-byod-education.asp?URL_ID=708

Note: I work for Ericom