Impact of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative on teachers and students in 21st century classrooms
Kevin Hryhirchuk
York University
Course: Issues in Technology in Education (EDUC 5860)
Professor: Ronald D. Owston
Abstract
As a teacher for seven years, I have seen the impact of evolving technology in the classroom such as the internet also known as the World Wide Web or simply the web. I am interested in learning about innovative ways of integrating the use of technology within the learning environment for students, parents, teachers, principals, and the global community. Recently, my school board has shifted its focus to create an environment for the internet to become more pervasive across all the schools within the board by September 2013. Since the announcement of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative by the Peel District School Board in March of 2012, the response by some teachers has not been welcoming as the board positions itself for 21st century teaching and learning. In this article, I will address concerns for and against this new initiative to allow students to bring their own devices into the classroom to complement their learning, through the use of Wi-Fi networks to access the world wide web.
Key Words: Internet, web, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), 21st century, learning, teaching
Introduction
Since becoming a teacher, the learning environment has changed so much due to the integration of technology in the classroom. During my first year of teaching in 2006, the technology I had mostly used in the classroom was a television, dvd/vcr player, an audio player, and an over head projector with transparency paper. Currently, seven years later I am still using technology, however, I have shifted from using the above mentioned technology to strictly digital technology. When I first started teaching in 2006, the school I taught at had a computer lab with old computers at the end of their warranties. We also had a technology teacher who taught students to play school board supported games already installed on the computers such as Bailey’s Book House and Math Circus to name a few. There was also only one computer in each classroom which was slow when trying accessing the internet.
After five years of teaching at my previous school, I moved to my current school where there is no computer lab or technology teacher; instead we have “Computers on Wheels”, better known as “COWs”. Individual teachers are responsible for teaching themselves and their own students about how to use internet technology for research, providing instructions, and as a tool for assessment. The Peel District School Board has begun implementing “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) in schools as of March 2012, when trustees approved a $7 million investment in technology to make it possible for schools to develop their Wi-Fi infrastructure so that all Peel students will have access to the web at school. Peel published on its website www.peelsb.com that on, “March 27, 2012, Peel District School Board trustees approved the transfer of $7 million from its Working Fund Reserve to cover the cost of information technology infrastructure to support the board’s Vision for Learning and Instructional Technology Plan.” This initiative aims to develop 21st century learning and teaching for the global community as the world becomes more connected through the use of information communication technology (ICT).
Why is the board implementing BYOD in the classroom?
Tony Pontes, the director of the Peel District School Board, indicates that “In global communities that are linked so closely through the Internet, it’s critical that we provide our students and staff with the tools they need to build 21st Century learning skills.” He believes “the board’s historic financial investment in the future of learning and instructional technology will provide access to learning anytime, anywhere—access we know will lead to innovation and exploration through learning and connecting with the world. We need to expand access to current technology and encourage students to BYOD—bring your own device—to engage them in learning. The plan will also ensure equity of access to technology for all students through classroom computers and tablets in schools.” The board’s overall goal for implementing this initiative is to support teachers and professional learning, provide equitable access to core technology across schools, transform how information is shared between students and teachers with the implementation of a internet-based (cloud) file services for students, and the ability to have digital learning resources available anytime, anywhere as outlined in their documentation for visions for 21st century teaching and learning. In order for students to be able to use their personal educational devices (PED) at school the board’s goal is to develop the infrastructure to support wireless access for devices students bring to school from laptops, netbooks, ipads, tablets, cell phones and other hand held devices. To ensure that this initiative will meet the needs of the individuals involved such as parents, students, teachers, administrators, and community members, policies and guidelines for the appropriate use of technology has to be sound so that the technology can be used effectively as a tool for collaboration and communication in order to engage all invested partners in the educational community.
Four principles of 21st century teaching and learning the board intends to address with the implementation of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) are communication, critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and innovation, and collaborative inquiry to solve real and relevant problems. The board published on their website a vision for 21st Century Teaching & Learning that “by fall 2013, we expect students in all Peel schools to be able to communicate, collaborate and access educational resources online through wireless networks.” While this is an optimistic goal by the board I am currently at a school where the infrastructure for Wi-Fi does exist, however it has not worked all year because the schools network was on dial up internet access until April 2013. Since April 2013, the school is receiving internet through fibre optic cable, however, there is still no Wi-Fi access available. This makes me wonder, how realistic is the timeline the board set out to have all schools Wi-Fi ready since they recently received approval by school trustees March of 2012?
BYOD Implementation Problems
The Peel District School Board has lofty goals for 21st century teaching and learning. Their approach with BYOD from my experience reminds me of the movie “Field of Dreams” with the famous line “if you build it, they will come.” The analogy “putting the cart before the horse” is another sentiment that I can use to describe the current state of the BYOD initiative at my present school. I say this because my school was built between September 2011 through August 2012 with Wi-Fi compatibility installed all around the school so that we would be a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) school. Now the school year will be coming to a close in June 2013 and neither students nor teachers have Wi-Fi access. It also took eight out of the ten months of the school year before we were able to use the computers in our rooms to properly stream videos from youtube, peelTV, or Learn360. The “COWs” were left grazing on their cart because the network would not support them all being connected at the same time. The ipads purchased for the school have yet to be used because they cannot be programmed for use because there is no Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) in the school to connect. If my current, newly built school has had so many issues becoming Wi-Fi ready, what may happen with retrofitting some of the older schools across the district to have them ready for September 2013? At this stage, only time will tell.
Concerns about the health risks related to Wi-Fi
Concerned parents who are opposed to having their child or children being in an environment saturated by radio frequency of Wi-Fi will have to keep their child/children out of the public education system as there are no accommodations for individuals with such a preference. Although some studies indicate that the use of Wi-Fi does not have any health risks, I believe it is too early to be conclusive. Since the use of Wi-Fi is a recent phenomenon in the public sphere within the last 10 years, there needs to be more extensive studies to prove that continual exposure does not affect the health of humans. The World Health Organization “has not concluded that Wi-Fi is a possible carcinogen—WHO has, in fact, concluded that “the electromagnetic fields produced by mobile phones are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as possibly carcinogenic to humans” based on their response to frequently asked questions about the risk of Wi-Fi as a cancer causing substance found on their website. The WHO also indicates that “considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak radio Frequency (RF) signals from base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects.” These statements are reasons to be cautious because they are not providing conclusive evidence for me to believe we are completely safe. The current generation Z born after the millennial have become test subjects of the board’s initiative as they will live a life saturated with exposure to wireless technology all around. We will not be able to assess the true impact until they become adults and then we can assess whether their generation has higher rates of cancer diagnosis from previous generations caused by radio frequency carcinogens attributed to Wi-Fi signals.
Time to Adapt to the Change - There is no turning back
As the Peel District School Board positions itself to transform the realm of education for the 21st century for students, parents, teachers and other individuals who have invested interest in the school system, there is backlash and resistance to these changes. The board intends to change the way employees and students currently access information by eventually switching the board’s network “to Microsoft Active Directory which will ensure that the Board can deliver 21st century solutions for students and staff” as outlined in the board’s document “Vision for Learning and Instructional Plan.”
This will change the way in which teachers teach, assess, and communicate. The concerns I have heard are coming from some senior members who are not comfortable adapting to the proposed changes. They are concerned with the lack of professional development on how to integrate the use of the devices in the classroom. There are also concerns about the lack of clear expectations, policies and procedures about inappropriate use, and safe storage of students’ devices. The information disseminated by the board thus far has been vague and puts a lot of the responsibility squarely on teachers to implement BYOD even though as a collective they were not consulted or involved before the board decided to put their initiative into action, possibly due to labour issues between the teacher union and the province during the time the Peel District School Board trustees approved the BYOD initiative. Further research will have to be conducted to shed more light on why teachers’ inputs were not sought before the roll out of the BYOD initiative, which is causing angst in some members. As a Peel Elementary Teacher Local Steward for my school, I have had the privilege to attend many union meetings where members are sharing their concerns about students using the devices to breach their privacy by taking pictures or recording audio/visual of them in the classroom.
Regardless of whether teachers are ready or not, come September 2013 the board’s intentions are to have all schools wired and ready for students to bring their own devices. There are lots of issues that educators, parents, and students have to contend with as the tone of the school environment will change drastically. Although the board indicates in its publication, “Responses to Commonly Asked Questions: Use of wireless technology”, that “schools who have fully embraced BYOD have seen a true reduction in the number of times devices are used inappropriately in the classroom” does not refer to the exact number of schools being referenced. A Google search for total number of students in the Peel District School Board provided by Wikipedia indicates that there are more than 230 schools in the Peel District School Board which covers the geographical areas of Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon and Bolton with approximately over 150,000 students. Since the approval of the BYOD initiative by school trustees in March of 2012, I wondered how many of the 230 schools were able to effectively implement BYOD initiative. I also contemplate that it has not been a full school year and how realistically can such a statement about students’ use of devices in the classroom be substantiated? I am proposing that there needs to be more time and research dedicated to studying the impact that the technology will have in the classroom on student behaviour and responsibility.
The board’s document titled “Vision and Learning and Instructional Plan” illustrates phase 1 “Wireless Implementation in test sites - 1 Elementary and 5 Secondary Schools”, therefore this is not enough evidence to conclude that there is a “true” reduction of inappropriate use of devices by students in schools in the testing phase of BYOD initiative. That means that roughly 6/230 schools are currently testing BYOD, which is a very small fraction to conclude how it will impact the climate of student responsibility. The impact will have a different effect for elementary, intermediate, and secondary schools which is not being communicated effectively by the board as they thrust parents, teachers, students and other involved stake holders within the school system into uncertainty for the upcoming 2013-2014 school year. So far, information has not been released about the progress being made to retrofit older schools with the infrastructure, or if the board will meet their target to have all schools wireless by the upcoming 2013/2014 school year.
While change brings uncertainty there are some things that are certain. Students are aware of the initiative and they have already started bringing their devices even though schools are not ready. For example, in the school that I teach at, students bring their devices and are not able to use them effectively and are using these devices inappropriately. They are taking pictures of individuals unknowingly, they are taking pictures of textbooks which is infringing on copyright laws, and sharing them through social media, they are listening to music, texting, emailing, and tweeting during instructional time and at nutrition breaks. It is causing teachers to create a new set of behavioural expectations around the use of technology in the classroom. With no specific guidelines, teachers are setting their own expectations for when, where, how, and why students will use their devices in the classroom. The prohibited usage listed in the board’s document ”Vision for Learning and Instructional Planning” indicates that students are not allowed “copying, downloading, transferring, renaming, adding or deleting information protected under copyright law.” This will look different between grade levels, subjects, and divisions across the board as educators, parents and students make sense of guidelines provided which contradict how they may currently be using their devices. The prohibited action quoted above is something educators, parents and students take advantage of with the use of the internet already. Therefore, to prohibit it in the classroom will affect how technology can be effectively used and how teachers monitor their own behaviour and the behaviour of the students, if you cannot download, transfer, or copy files from the internet.
Conclusion
The Peel District School Board has published on its BYOD website that it “will provide more technology, products, and service options that are flexible enough to allow educators and students to have FREEDOM TO LEARN. Freedom to connect, to deliver, to support, to collaborate, to share, to question, to explore, to assimilate, to understand, to innovate, to grow and to contribute. All these to take place anytime, anywhere without any barriers.” These sentiments were prophesized in an article written by Ronald D. Owston in 1997 titled, “The World Wide Web: A Technology to Enhance Teaching and Learning”.
In Owston’s article, he discusses three distinct advantages the internet will have on the learning environment for students. One was that the web appeals to students as a new learning mode because they interact with the technology much more than previous generations for playing, entertaining and learning. His second point was that the internet provides flexibility for learning which gives students greater autonomy with their learning and encourages teachers “to shift their style of teaching from a didactic to a more project-based approach.” The third advantage that Owston predicted was that the internet would enable “new kinds of learning” as educational institutions prepare learners for the global community.
Owston’s predictions in 1997 have come to fruition as the Peel District School Board begins to implement their BYOD initiative to provide universal access to the web at every school across the board. His remarks about the internet’s advantage for developing critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and problem solving are succinct with the goals of the Peel District School Board’s current initiative. He states that “teachers can encourage students to explore the Web with the goal of having them weigh evidence, judge the authenticity of data, compare different viewpoints on issues, analyze and synthesize diverse sources of information, and construct their own understanding of the topic or issue at hand. By doing so, teachers will be well on their way to having students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.” His arguments for developing critical thinking and problem solving are the cornerstones for changing the current state of education in the Peel District School Board. BYOD will inevitably increase students access to education, promote improved learning while reducing the cost of education as the need for physical books will diminish as well as the cost of purchasing technology devices for students will decrease if students are bringing their own devices. BYOD is Owston’s prophecy coming to fruition in the 21st century classroom. What is next to come, will be left to see in time. For all invested members of the Peel District School Board who are parents, educators, and students that will have no choice but to come to terms with the blossoming educational landscape of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in the 21st century classroom.
References
Owston, D. R (2006). The World Wide Web Revisited. Mid-Western Educational Researcher, 20:1, 4-9.
Retrieved from http://www.yorku.ca/rowston/MWERA_article.pdf
Owston, D. R (1997). The World Wide Web: A Technology to Enhance Teaching and Learning?.
American Educational Research Association, 26, 27-33. doi: 10.3102/0013189X026002027
Peel District School Board. (2013). Choose Devices. Mississauga, Ontario. Retrieved from http://www.peelschools.org/aboutus/21stCentury/byod/devices/Pages/default.aspx
Peel District School Board. (2013). Visions for 21st Teaching and Learning. Mississauga, Ontario.
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