District Considers Bring Your Own Device Program

In addition to paper and pencils, Katonah Lewisboro students could be toting their own technology devices in their backpacks.

"iPads can be a powerful learning tool," said Nancy Kim, the district's director of technology at a recent school board meeting. She provided details to the board on what a "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) program could look like in the district.

"They actively engage students—who can work individually at their own pace, and engage in differentiated learning that's appropriate for their style," she said.

Kim said that BYOD is a learning rogram that allow students to bring their own personal mobile devices such as iPads, tablets or smart phones for use in the classroom. She led board members through an exercise using a seventh grade math problem and a $100 Apple TV box. Each board member solved the problem and was able to show their work, completed on individual iPads using a notetaking program, on a big screen.

One classroom benefit is the teacher's ability to do on-the-spot assessments of student understanding of the material, Kim pointed out. BYOD also reduces the district's technology acquisition costs and helps students develop 21st century skills for college, work and daily life, she said.

The hope is that many of the students would have devices, and the district would purchase tablets for students who didn't have their own, Kim added.

"We don't want to buy into any tech fad, so BYOD is advantageous because students are purchasing devices of their own choosing," she said.

Implementation

The program is in planning stages, and several steps must be taken prior to implementation, according to Kim. The district first needs to develop a wireless infrastructure and upgrade its wired network to increase bandwith to provide access and high-speed connections.

A formal BYOD program would likely be rolled out in the middle and high school first because those students are closer to college and career stages of their lives, Kim said. At the elementary level, special education students at Increase Miller Elementary School are already using iPads and another elementary classroom is due to pilot their use this spring.

As for timing, the district will continue the smaller pilot projects and will not likely roll out a program until next year—even then, it may not be big-scale.

"I don't think we'll expect staff by next fall educating students with iPads—we still don’t have bus radios," said Kreutzer. "We are giving opportunities to students who are chomping at the bit, and we also have some trailblazers [teachers] who are ready to run. Teachers will be involved in how it will work."

What do you think about the use of such technologies in the classroom? Let us know in the comments.

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