BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)
Overview
Our BYOD Strategy has been formed through a combination of research of emerging best practice, learning from other schools’ BYOD experiences and listening to the views and needs of our teaching and support staff. We believe that having access to a device that is used thoughtfully can enhance student’s learning, allowing them to be connected, collaborative and creative in ways that would not be possible otherwise.
Waimea College is a ‘BYOD friendly’ school. For students in Years 11, 12 and 13 it is preferred that they bring a device to school, and for students in Years 9 and 10 it is encouraged.
Our BYOD Strategy
If years 9 and 10 students have a laptop-style device, such as a Chromebook, we encourage them to bring it to school for use in lessons. The school will support students to connect their devices to our network for school use. In Junior classes a Chromebook is adequate.
In Years 11, 12 and 13 most subjects will incorporate the use of a device in their courses to some degree. Some courses are highly dependent upon students having access to devices (see the course booklet for guidance around this). In Senior classes we recommend students bring a more competent, Windows device since it will be capable of running a wider range of software than a browser-based Chromebook.
Equity
We are aware that not all families are able or willing to purchase a device. Students are likely to be more productive with their own device, configured the way they prefer. They can also make use of a personal device outside of the classroom. However, if students do not have a device, the school is well-served with sets of Chromebooks that can be booked by teachers for classes. In addition, the Library has devices that can be booked out by individual students for the day.
Choosing and Purchasing a Device
To help with choosing a device we have partnered with Noel Leeming in Queen St, Richmond. If you go to the store, they will help you make an appropriate choice based on your student’s year level and subject choices. They have preferential pricing on devices and payment options to make it easier to purchase a device.
Device options are always changing but some guidelines are:
- Long battery life (6+ hours)
- Reasonably rugged (some devices are specifically aimed at school)
- Portable and light (this generally means a smaller screen size)
- An SSD (solid state drive) for storage. This is less likely to be damaged than a traditional hard-drive, and makes for much faster start-up times
- A case is a good idea as warranties often do not cover accidental screen damage.
Some Interesting BYOD Resources
The internet is full of great BYOD Resources. Here are a few that have helped shape our thinking:
- SensibleScreenUse.org — Summary of research around the use of devices in schools
- Changing Education Paradigms by Sir Ken Robinson (11 minutes)
- Ed Talks — Different video clips focussed around BYOD in NZ and overseas schools
