Category Archives: Student Devices

I am pleased to announce, that after the board meeting tonight, Byron High School will be lifting the Ban on Personal Learning Devices (PLDs) in our school. We have defined PLD’s as Smart Phones, iPod Touches, Tablets, Laptops, Netbooks or any other Internet enabled device. It has been a year of discussion, pilots, more discussion, and policy edits.  I am absolutely thrilled at the opportunities students will have in our classrooms!

The journey began in November with a high school email discussion about Osseo Public Schools – Project Copernicus Pilot in which Osseo teachers, in the project,  encouraged students to bring in wireless devices to use in the classroom.  We decided to add PLD Questions  to OUR annual student survey – results indicated that approx 75% of Byron students in grades 9 and 11 have personal devices and 33% have SMART phones with data plans. The idea gained momentum, and Osseo CTO Tim Wilson, graciously met with our District Technology Committee via Skype to talk more in depth of the project and answer stakeholder questions.  After the skype session, several teachers expressed interest in also trying a pilot of their own.  Our HS principal organized a HS staff meeting about the topic and by 3rd quarter, our Pilot was underway.

After the quarter was over, it was time to discuss the pilot, and any pro’s and con’s the teachers came across.

PROS

• Increased classroom research opportunities – instantly.
• Frees up computer lab – which is at a premium even with a 1.8 student to computer ratio!
• Benefits students in Math classrooms where e-curriculum has replaced textbooks
• Students can rewatch lecture (Math) videos or look up answers in solutions manual
• Current discipline tracking of current cell phone policy is extensive/exhaustive (approx. 90% of discipline issues are attributed to phones/ipods)
• Assess student learning and provide peer review feedback by using tools like Poll Everywhere
• Create/archive student work with use of cameras and video recorders
• Students know how to use their devices
• Students take care of their devices

CONS

• Bandwidth and wireless access needs to be considered – we will be adding access points to accommodate the increase in wireless devices
• Policing what students are looking at can be difficult (games, texting, Facebook, ect) – Note – We decided that time on task can be an issue on any computer, the screens are just smaller with these devices! 🙂

OBSERVATIONS

• Students are fully aware of what they should be doing when they are allowed to use their PLD
• Students appreciate being able to use their PLD since they know how their device works
• There has not been an issue with “have nots”.  Students who do not have a device, collaborate with students who do OR make arrangements to get a classroom loaner device.

In a very short time, our school has become open to the idea of letting these devices in the classroom.  Teachers who are still  apprehensive about the use of PLDs, can opt out by indicating their choice within their course syllabus.  But for teachers who DO want to incorporate devices in their classrooms, the school wide ban has been lifted to support their  ideas and new learning opportunities!

Right now there is a GREAT discussion happening in my highschool regarding allowing/banning students to bring in student owned devices.   Our high school principal sent an email to our staff inviting them respond/discuss their thoughts of the following video showing a student owned device pilot project in Osseo Schools.

http://nwtv12.img.entriq.net/htm/nwtv12flashplayer.htm?articleID=8217

The following is my response to our staff:

Dear Staff,
I appreciate the responses from this thread and value all of your ideas and concerns.  In my honest opinion, I truly feel that we can no longer ignore these Internet enabled devices.   Students are walking into your classrooms with Google in their pockets – we should harness this opportunity – not ban it.

The 2010 Horizon Report indicates we have 1 year or less to adopt these technologies in our schools.  It is coming, it is here, its not going away.  As I think of my own use of my smart phone – it is an integral part of my business communications. As we think of preparing students for their future – these devices are going to be the primary way students are connected to people (family, friends, coworkers) as well as personal/professional email, calendars, social media applications.  In the 21st century being connected also means using these devices to create, learn and share  information.  If interested, the new term coined for this type of learning is mlearning.  (Let me Google it for you!)

Budget.  I can honestly say for the past 10 years the term 1:1 has been discussed numerous times in various committees.  But, to develop a budget to support an initiative as well as SUSTAIN it is very complex and fiscally not possible… at least not yet.  Financially, it makes sense for students to bring in their personal devices.

Access.  Did you know that our HS has less than a 2:1 ratio?  For every 2 students we have 1 computer/laptop. We have added labs this summer and added computers to address class sizes.  It is still not enough.  As you continue to integrate technology into your classes the demand for access is rising.  I realize their may be concerns of have/and have nots. However, I really have to wonder how many have nots we have? I just purchased an iPod touch for my youngest for Christmas for about $200. It has full Internet capabilities – including access to Google Apps, Moodle, as well as a wealth of other useful tools(aka APPS).

As for obstacles I see three issues when moving in this direction.

• Current Policy.  Right now our policy bans this technology in our classrooms. Here is an etiquette guide to give an example  of what other schools are looking at. There may be new discipline issues that will come with these devices too, but look at the amount of discipline time we are spending just trying implementing our “Ban” policy.  I would like to take an uneducated guess and say that 90% of our detention, parent calls, frustrated students, incident record keeping could disappear if we allowed these devices in our schools.  We should be teaching students how to appropriately use them – not ban them.  This is a skill that will be very important for them, when they graduate and go to college/workforce.
• Bandwidth/Wireless.  Adding an additional 300 devices might affect our Internet bandwidth.  We will need adjust it and it will cost $.  We also need to think about increasing the wireless access (add more access points) this is also an added cost.
• Teaching will need to change – Teachers are going to need to create lesson plans that are endpoint independent.  If you have a classroom of Smartphones, iPods, iPads, netbooks and laptops – how you will have your students complete the lessons will change. At this point, We will still need our labs for writing, specialized programs, and testing – but is the lab necessary for research and other web-based applications?  Teacher will also need to think about how they assess student learning.  If students are given tests that can be easily Googled, is it a relevant assessment to their learning? Cheating is always a concern, but if teachers develop more authentic assessments and/or project based lessons – cheating  can decrease immensely. An added benefit will be that students will know the content better and it will be more meaningful to them.

I look forward to continuing this conversation with you.  I think easing into this environment is a great idea and I think a pilot is very appropriate. I will also be willing to serve on any HS committee/group that are wiling to look at this further.

I would like to leave you with an excerpt from Doug Johnson’s Blue Skunk blog post Rules for Pod People and a Proposal for Banning Pencils, in which he compares the reasons for banning iPods with banning pencils:

1. A student might poke out the eye of another student.
2. A student might write a dirty word with one. Or even write a whole harassing note and pass it to another student.
3. One student might have a mechanical pencil making those with wooden ones feel bad.
4. The pencil might get stolen or lost.
5. Kids might be doodling instead of working on their assignments.