Role of portable technologies such as personal smart phones and tablet computers may provide an alternative or smart solution for the introduction of technology in classroom or lecture room in 21st century learning amidst the high technology costs in the
era of economic challenge. By incorporating BYOD (bring your own device)
in the 21st century in the school, it may permit the technology to be introduced into the learning process.
For those who appreciate the theory of learning, they have to bear an extra cognitive load, so that our children and young people are endeavored with the chance on how to use the technology before they can actually begin to learn with technology. There are critics who truly emphasize the privacy and safety issues pertaining to technology adoption in 21st century learning.
This must be addressed on the top and not avoided, as it makes great sense to inculcate a liable self-reliance from the very beginning. There are options to keep the learning environment safe , and there are trustable search engines which can be mentioned to the kids for their use.
Children of age 4 -5 years operate tablet computers today. They can open, navigate, and run the applications which draw their interest. Children are very well aware about which tool to use and when to use. A young child knowing which site to visit for painting and which site to visit for videos is the magic of 21st century learning.
Young students, who take the help of portable devices for learning purposes, can learn at a much faster pace than their peers and they seem to do better in assessments. A stimulus as to how the next generation expects to connect in their learning gets triggered when pupils use technology in classroom which is not necessarily observed in traditional classroom setup and in today’s technological world in 21st century learning .
Nevertheless, in several schools, students would not be permitted to use the internet or even their own devices to support their learning. It is very striking that students get an access to smartphones and portable devices at home, but when they are in school they have to cope with policies that inform them they can’t use ordinary websites such as YouTube, or possibly they may be prohibited from bringing their own devices into the classroom in the first place. We should bear in mind that it is no longer a question of whether or not we should be using this technology; it is now about how we should integrate technology in classroom properly so that every young person has equal and fair entry to technology adoption.
It is now BYOT (bring your own technology)
learning, which came as an evolution. The flow between what technology can present and what society demands is engulfed within a cycle of development and novelty. In twenty years’ time, the technological concept and the realization will take a new mode. This has happened before and is bound happen again. It is high time therefore, that we ought to give due importance for the introduction of BYOD in school to the development of smarter technologies, and we must also align our attitudes and behaviors simultaneously. If we don’t do anything at this moment, the next generation will be muted by schools, and will undoubtedly cause a hindrance to the access of BYOD in classroom as an aid in learning process which will be obviously difficult to remove.
For those interested in its implementation, watch the video below and read the do’s and don’ts for administrators and decision makers to implement BYOD in their schools.
Do’s and Don’ts:
Do explain the benefits to students, educators, and parents
Don’t forget Role Based Access Control (RBAC)
Do consider Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Don’t ignore the possible problems/risks
Do simplify things with Centralized Management
Don’t overlook Next Generation Security
Do prepare your and train educators
Don’t implement without a good BYOD Policy
Do prepare your school wireless network
Don’t just pick the first wireless network vendor you find
Read the detailed Do’s and Don’ts for the implementation here.
