A fiery BYOD Meeting
I attended an info evening put on by my local primary school on their new BYOD initiative last night. While there were some supportive parents there, the night was dominated by complaint – and it was hard to watch. I wanted to outline a couple of myths and realities. Please, if you disagree, that’s what the comments section is for…
Androids are the same and cheaper
Yes, there are cheaper alternatives. But from a teacher perspective, it’s terrifying having a multiplicity of devices. There are teachers who can deal with that issue, but it’s a very big ask.
While there are currently 3 different iPad models (not including storage differences), they’re all the same when it comes to functionality, how apps and web pages appear etc. It’s russian roulette on an android tablet.
Why not a laptop?
Tablets are lighter and have longer battery life. They’re ideal for passing around and sharing presentations etc. They also have two cameras…
You would be amazed how efficiently you can type on it. If you’ve been typing on a computer keyboard for 20 years, a tablet is a big change. But if you’re young and new to typing – you learn it really fast.
You need a like button.
From, Steve’s Son.
When we went BYOD this year I dreaded what would turn up in my digital class. I have to say that by far and away the easiest to deal with (with one exception) were the ipads. 3 cheers for ipads!!! Actually make that 2 exceptions, because without students downloading a browser such as Puffin ($$) there were issues when we used sites that were flash-based (which we seem to do quite a bit in science, sorry!) The other exception was mail – the school mail system is gmail based & if a student already had a gmail on their ipad, it seemed to mean they couldn’t access both. That was relatively annoying. Oh, and the other mail thing – lots of them had .xtra or .ihug addresses – these won’t send on the school network either, although they download just fine. This is the same for my own ipad/iphone.
Other than that, though, they were quick, easy, functional, and as you said, most kids adapt to typing on them very quickly. The MoodleEZ app is a must and then we really are all good! Compared to them, laptops/netbooks seemed so much like unnecessary weight.
I think I had one student with an Android tablet – they seemed to cope ok, but as with all of them, if they had any problems, they had to figure it out themselves.
We are replacing faculty sets of netbooks with ipads for next year (assuming funding is approved). After 2 1/2 years, the netbooks are really dead in the water. Viva la ipad!!! (And trust me, I never ever thought I’d say that!)
Glad I missed my daughter’s one then. Got the pamphlet delivered instead. Can’t see that my 6-year-old would use a BYOD for anything the teachers envisage. She’d just watch Pingu on YouTube!