BYOD: A Parental Dilemma - Michael Rae

Flashback to 1998. A 16 year old student comes home and tells his
single mother, Mom, I need 80 bucks to buy a graphing calculator for math.
80 dollars? She questions worriedly.
Yeah, my teacher says I need one for Math 11.
Thats a lot of money, doesnt the school supply them?
I dont know, but Mom, I need my own...how will I do homework without
one?
That student, as you may have guessed, was me and long story short, my
mother ended up driving me to Radio Shack where she made an investment
in my education, as I called it. This was what I thought was my first
encounter with BYOD, Bringing Your Own Device.
While post secondary institutions have embraced the idea of BYOD, the
integration into K-12 education has gained steam as districts look for ways to
divert costs while improving the quality of education. The devices in
question are no longer graphing calculators however; they are the much
more powerful and functional tablets.
In a discussion with U.S. President Barack Obama, Steve Jobs called Americas
education system absurd and added that classrooms were still based on
teachers standing at a board and using textbooks. All books, learning
materials, and assessments should be digital and interactive, tailored to each
student and providing feedback in real time. 1
If Jobs had had it his way, the iPad would have been at the forefront of this
change. Id like to think that somewhere, perhaps up on a cloud (pun
intended) Jobs is smiling. His invention has swept the world and progressive
educators have taken notice. The benefits of BYOD are well documented. For
example, countless educational apps for the iPad exist, immediate access to
information is available, ownership is instilled in students, digital literacy is
improved, and the use of cloud technology reduces the amount of paper
used. Clearly, implementation of BYOD programs could revolutionize
education. The problem is: how do cash-strapped school districts possibly
supply thousands of students with their own tablets?

1 Isaacson, Walter. Steve Jobs. New York: Simon and Schuster (2011).
Retrieved from: http://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/23/dutch-committeeproposes-to-build-steve-jobs-ipad-equipped-classroom/

The answer could be BYOD. This would provide the school with technology
without breaking its budget. It sounds good in theory, but there are obvious
pitfalls that could occur. In addition to the logistical problems associated with
incorporating BYOD, like the nightmare for tech support, students adopting a
different BYOD (Bring Your Own Distraction), and internet content filtering,
perhaps the most important issue is the further stratification of inequalities
within the classroom. Lets face it, not all parents can afford a tablet for each
child. What happens if the student breaks it, loses it or has it stolen? What
are they supposed to do then? Forcing parents to make decisions between
their childs education and food on their table does not seem fair. School
districts need to find money in their budget to give parents an option: buy it
for your child if you want, but if you are unable to, the school will provide
them. I would bet that Jobs vision eventually comes to fruition - that tablets
will be ubiquitous in classrooms and teachers will adapt to teach 21 st century
skills to allow students to collaborate, communicate and create. I applaud
school districts that recognize this and embrace the inevitability, but it is up
to them to spend the money to ensure that the playing field is level for all
students.
While opponents of BYOD in education do have valid points, as a society we
have already accepted the concept. Isnt buying a notebook, a pack of pens
and whiteout a form of BYOD? Granted, spending $25 dollars at Staples is a
little easier to stomach than $600 at Best Buy, but with time, tablets will
become more affordable and BYOD programs will become more widely
accepted. Until then, however, schools that want the future of education in
the present need to provide some back up options for parents who cant
afford it.
I know how much my Mom cringed about the idea of buying a graphing
calculator, I cant imagine the tough spot she would have been in if I needed
an iPad for school.

Cartoon: http://www.pixton.com/comic/usxqmgd1