Becky Fisher, director of educational technology and professional development in Virginia’s Albemarle County Public Schools, said that mobile device management raises a number of important questions and considerations for school and district technology leaders:
- Who chooses the device? Some district leaders do not care what particular device is used, while others want a uniform selection. Teacher, parents, and student input is important.
- What questions do you want to ask?
- Who owns the device? Even when district personnel choose technology purchases and assign devices to students, there are various levels of student ownership over the device.
- Who determines when, and how, to use the chosen device? Must teachers still “give students permission” to use their devices, whether the devices are student-owned (BYOD) or district-owned?
- Who supports the device? Will district technology staff check for updates and maintain devices, or, if the district has implemented a BYOD initiative, are software upgrades and device management left up to students?
- Who provides access for the device? Students may access the internet through a school’s filtered, public Wi-Fi, but student-owned smart phones on a 3G or 4G network give students the ability to access the internet through their own, unfiltered networks.
- Who is responsible for the responsible use of the device? “We want to have those conversations with kids and…[enroll] our parents in that conversation,” Fisher said.
See also:
Lucy Gray, project director of CoSN’s Mobile Learning Initiative and the webinar’s moderator, shared 10 planning tips that school leaders should consider as they move toward a mobile learning platform:
- Begin with a thorough knowledge of your school culture.
- Create a strategic multi-year plan.
- Conduct total cost of ownership analyses.
- Start with a pilot and expand on successes.
- Rethink acceptable use policies.
- Be creative with professional development.
- Nurture early adopters.
- Ensure a robust network.
- Enlist parents and the community in supporting the program.
- Focus on improving teaching and learning, not on the devices.
“We decided that we needed to start producing a new K-12 teacher,” said Billie McConnell, director of K-12 professional development at ACU Connected Consulting, which is part of Abilene Christian University. He said the university recognized a need to develop teachers who are ready to enter technology-rich environments.
McConnell outlined five things that teachers want school and district IT departments to know:
- Children learn best on paper: We need better technology, not less of it - July 13, 2026
- In districts, reaching readiness, retention, and success - March 5, 2026
- AI use is on the rise, but is guidance keeping pace? - January 2, 2026
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