Can BYOD be a reality?

We have all heard the term BYOD/BYOT and many of us have even implemented such a program in our institutions. The thought of offsetting district expenditures by having students supply their own devices is certainly an eye opening thought. Can a BYOD truly exist without a district supplied one-to-one option or similar district solution? It’s something I wrestle with each time I hear of districts doing one without the other.

The two terms BYOD and one-to-one are typically heard synonymously for the simple fact that in a BYOD only environment, those students who do not have access to their own devices will not be able to participate in online or computer based classroom activities unless provisions are made in each classroom to ensure every child has a device. This in itself can pose its own challenges as certain personal devices may not be able to view resources required by the class.

Flash based activities will not be viewable on iOS devices. Most testing as of today states explicitly that personal devices may not be used, so in this case, we must still have enough district owned devices to tackle the growing number of online assessments.

(Next page: What will districts need to support BYOD?)