Our district recently updated its Electronic Communication Devices Policy, which you can check out (and I highly encourage you to) in its entirety here: Electronic Communication Device Policy.
The policy now allows the possibility of teachers having students utilize BYOD or Bring Your Own Device. Electronic devices can be anything from smartphones to laptops to tablets, just to name a few.This is not a free-for-all though. There are guidelines that must still be followed and use in class is at the teacher's discretion. I know this can be an overwhelming idea at first, but don't let it be something you fear. Technology is part of students' everyday lives, so why not take advantage of that and turn what most students already have into a teaching tool?
Here is just a small list of ways to utilize BYOD:
- Formative Assessment-Students' devices can be their own response device, with the right app installed
- Electronic Note Taking-Evernote and One Note are great for this
- Cloud-based collaboration-Dropbox, One Drive, and Google Drive are all great options
- Presentation-Including apps like Prezi, PowerPoint, Haiku Deck, and Google Slides
- Blogging- Kidblogs and Edublogs are two possibilities
- Written Expression-Dragon, Microsoft Word, and Google Drive; for younger students the Write About This and Tell About This apps are great for expression
- Graphic Design-Canva is a really cool tool for this; Also sites like Glogster for infographic design
Obviously, the use of electronic devices will look significantly different at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The bottom line is that you must figure out how you can make technology in the classroom work for you and for the success of your students.
Here is a link to some great BYOD management tips if you're interested:
BYOD Management Tips
Is this something you might utilize in your classroom? If so, how?
I have yet to really enter the field of BYOD. However, I have found it handy these past two weeks when utilizing the Google Classroom. Students can now easily log in, use their device, and respond to the assignments in our own classroom. We do not necessarily have to go to a lab to do work together. IMO, a well-designed device policy.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great use of BYOD!
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