By Viktoriia Blavitska| Published: 12th May 2022
During the pandemic, a computing device was essential for most learners to connect and access their learning institution. As the world returns, the idea of devices in the classroom has gathered pace. In particular, allowing personal devices to travel with the student to the classroom.
The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) concept allows students to bring their own laptops or tablets for use in the classroom. There are some incredible statistics in the UK from Bradford Networks’ survey.
95% of universities allow personal laptops to be used on school networks
89% of colleges and universities allow students to use their own devices on campus.
85% of respondents currently allow students, faculty and staff to use personal devices on their school networks.
7% do not take the device type into consideration when provisioning access.
52% are integrating personal technology devices into the classroom.
27% allow open network access to anyone.
Of course, BYOD like every program has benefits and potential risks. So let's have a closer look at these.
Benefits:
Device familiarity. Students are already familiar with and comfortable using their own technology so they can focus on actually learning with them rather than learning how to use the device.
Unlimited information. With their smart devices connected to the school Wi-Fi network, students have access to all the information they want, right at their fingertips.
Personalized Learning. Using their own device and working with different apps, each student can learn at their own pace and follow their interests.
Learning outside the school hours. Students have access to all materials also after lessons. With all the features and apps, learning is more engaging and fun. So some students are more likely to continue learning at home, outside the school hours.
BYOD is cost-effective. Of course, this would be the main reason why schools implement this program. In 2020, education spent $227B on digital. And the forecast shows that this spending will grow to $404B by 2025 [Source: HolonIQ].
[Source: HolonIQ]
So BYOD is a good way for the school to save money on increasing technology costs but still reap the benefit. When you start adding up the costs, you quickly realize that schools can save a lot of money. A school with 500 students could end up spending over $750k on hardware alone if trying to provide it themselves.
Potential Risks:
Overloading the network. If you want to integrate the BYOD program into your learning system, you should understand that connecting all students' devices to the school Wi-Fi may weigh down the network so capacity should be reviewed carefully.
Security. More devices mean greater vulnerability to cyberattacks and other security threats. The number and different types of devices inevitably make IT networks more susceptible to threats. Different security set up on devices also requires careful management to ensure optimal protection.
Distraction. It is well known that every student is always distracted by something. In the case of BYOD, it could be social media and exciting games. Maybe you need to set good rules to manage it all?
Despite all the risks, BYOD is a key player when it comes to increasing the adoption of technology in education. However, to maximize results, it should be used with different platforms or apps.
What does it mean for Digital Education businesses?
Increase in opportunities. Clearly, more devices and the embracing of technology means there is greater demand for developers of tools for digital education.
Technology can bring better, personal learning. Adaptive earning, auto marking and peer support are just some of the ways that reinforce a bright future for Ed Tech.
Summing up, the use of technologies in education can play a crucial role in providing new and innovative projects and programs. So, if you have a great educational project and really want to popularize it all over the world, choose your category and enter now: www.digitaleducationawards.com/copy-of-enter-now
Let's celebrate improving nature education through digital together.