BYOD stands for “Bring Your Own Device.” BYOD is an initiative that will allow students who have personal technology devices to bring them to school to use them for educational purposes to meet their learning needs under the direction of a teacher or administrator. For the purposes of BYOD, “Device” means a wireless and/or portable electronic piece of equipment that includes laptops, netbooks, tablets, and Chromebooks.
Our students are living in a world where they have immediate access to information anytime and anywhere. Many students have personally-owned devices that can be used to allow them to learn in their own style and at their own pace. This Student Centered model leverages technology to promote anywhere/anytime learning for all students. With digital learning, every student can access high quality and rigorous instruction, thereby maximizing their opportunity for success in school and beyond. Combining technology and a focused, purposefully integrated curriculum can help students stay on task, and engage in a true Student Centered model.
Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology. The Aspen School District uses CommonSenseMedia.org as the source for its K-12 Digital Citizenship curriculum. This curriculum is designed to teach students the ethical use of the internet and resources available there. By introducing this curriculum, the District is doing its part to teach students responsible uses of the internet and electronic devices. For parents, CommonSenseMedia.org is a great resource to help them identify and set appropriate guidelines for internet use while not in school.
For students that do not have a device to bring to school, the Aspen School District has created a Chromebook Take-Home Program to give students the opportunity to obtain a school owned device. Please reference our Chromebook Take-Home Program for more information.
Students will access the District's wireless network using their current computer usernames and passwords. Most devices will detect a wireless connection when you are near one. Most of the time devices will ask to join an available network when prompted; students can simply choose “ASD BYOD” from the list. If the device does not display a prompt to choose a wireless network, students can manually go to the settings menu of the device to choose ASD BYOD from the list displayed there. Students having difficulty connecting to the District's network can get assistance from one of their building Technology Specialists. Students with a personally owned device are encouraged to use the BYOD wireless network. Students that use non-district networks (cellular 3G or 4G service) must comply with the Acceptable Use Policy and must recognize that they receive content unfiltered and do so at their own risk.
As with all technology use, personal or school-issued, students should use technology for educational purposes with the permission of the teacher or an administrator. Students using a personally-owned device must abide by the District Acceptable Use Policy. The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requires all network access to be filtered regardless of the device that is used to access it while in a public school. While students own the device, the network they are using belongs to the school, so Internet access will be filtered.
The device must be capable of wireless access. Students will not be able to plug in to the network through an ethernet cable. Current virus protection for PCs is required. For the safety and security of a student-owned device, it is recommended that the device has current malware and virus protection in addition to device firewall protection.
Violations of any Board policies, administrative procedures or school rules involving a student’s personally owned device may result in the loss of use of the device in school and/or disciplinary action. The school reserves the right to inspect a student’s personal device if there is reason to believe that the student has violated Board policies, administrative procedures, school rules or has engaged in other misconduct while using their personal device.
Some examples include but are not limited to the following:
The student uses an electronic device without the expressed approval of his/her teacher.
The student records a video without the permission of the teacher and posts it on YouTube.
The student takes pictures during class of other students and sends them electronically to friends without teacher approval.
The teacher has given permission to use the device for a project, but the student chooses to check his or her account on a social media site instead.
The student records or video tapes anyone without the knowledge and permission of an individual. This may be punishable under federal, state and local laws.
Students bring electronic communication devices to school at their own risk, just like any other personal items. The district will not be held responsible if an electronic device or other item is lost, stolen or misplaced. Some devices have a device locator; parents and/or students may want to enable this feature if possible. Students have lockers to keep their devices secure when they are not being used for purposes.
Students can use personal technology devices in any class to meet educational goals as long as they have the permission of the teacher.
This information is helpful in determining the device students may want to bring to school.
Student devices should be capable of those following:
The key element to BYOD is choice. Student choice includes selecting size (laptop versus tablet versus Chromebook); operating system (Mac, Windows); and production tools (Microsoft Office, iWorks, Google Docs). Aspen school District supports Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android, Windows Mobile (WP7) and Chromium operating systems. The devices the Aspen School District recommends are laptops (PC or Mac), tablet (Apple, Android, or Windows), netbook(PC), or a Chromebook. At this point, Smart Phones are not an acceptable device unless specifically directed for use by a teacher. Every student, faculty and staff member at Aspen School District is given a Google Apps for Education account. This secure account provides cloud storage, Google Docs, Spreadsheet and Presentation tools and makes it possible to communicate and collaborate on virtually any internet enabled device.
In most cases, the answer is “maybe”
Questions to ask:
Can I type easily and quickly format the information in a way that is acceptable to turn-in (using Google Docs, etc)?
Do I have issues such as eyestrain, thumb strain, etc. to consider?
E-Readers (Nook, Nook Color, Kindle, Kindle Fire):We DO NOT recommend that an e-reader be used as the primary device for BYOD. These devices are primarily used for consumption of books, movies, games, etc. They lack some of the advantages of full tablets and laptops (cameras, Bluetooth, detachable physical keyboard options) and have limited access to the full range of Apps (software) available on iOS or Android devices. Unless otherwise directed by a teacher with a specific use in mind, the Aspen School District DOES NOT SUPPORT SMARTPHONES as the student's primary device. Tablets, laptops, or Chromebooks are the preferred device.
No computer is immune to viruses or spam. As computers become more popular, they become more of a target for virus and spam creators. Aspen School District recommends that all students protect themselves through virus protection programs or apps. Aspen School District assists all users by providing additional protection “at the gates” of the network, but no single solution is foolproof and devices are certainly vulnerable off of the school network (such as home, coffee shops, or on a cellular network).
One of the largest concerns with mobile devices is the length of battery life. Students should plan their device usage to enable them to have power to use the device in their last class of the day without plugging the device in during class. There are a number of things that go into planning this.
Devices have different lengths of batteries. Some tablets have 10-16 hour battery configurations. Most laptops start at 3-4 hours but can be configured up to 8 hours.
There are a variety of charge extenders, extra batteries, portable chargers, etc. that can be used to extend life.
Student choice plays a part as well. If a student chooses to spend time playing ANGRY BIRDS, this depletes the battery much faster than a period spent typing a paper.
Considerations are being made to create power stations throughout the building that will give students the opportunity to grab a quick power charge.
Part of the daily use of technology is the daily care of that technology. Students must take care in securing their devices appropriately. If a student finds that their locker is not functioning properly, the school will make it a priority to correct the issue.
Learning takes place when you can be present in the moment. Some moments require a device (researching online databases) and some require complete attention to the teachers voice. The focus of BYOD is not so much Teacher or Classroom specific as it is STUDENT specific. Implementing a BYOD program addresses the issue of access when and where a student needs it. Students having access to a device during each class does not necessarily mean their screen-time will increase. This increased access will allow teachers to develop new strategies for creating engaging and purposeful curriculum that puts students in the center of their educational journey.