BYOD

One of our first days of orientation in the MAC program, we participated in an online feedback form by being asked to take out our phones and text in our answers. I had never done this before and  this new experience was weird to me. I've always been taught that pulling out my phone in class was rude and usually avoided distractions from it by shoving it into a pocket of my backpack and just kind of forgetting about it. So while sending in the feedback questions and waiting for others to finish answering, I just kept thinking how interesting it was that this was how we were taking survey's now. It mean, it makes sense as everyone had a cell phone and most the capability to text, but something about us pulling out these devices that I've always known to have "to disappear" once class started was just different.

Not too long ago, I was having a conversation with my brother, a high school senior at the time, via texting. There was something I needed to ask him and instead of waiting until he was out of school for the day, I texted him right away so I didn't forget. When I received a response, I was quick to give him a hard time: "What are you doing texting while in class?" I took him just responding sarcastically when he texted me: "We're allowed to." In my mind I was thinking, "yeah right!...nice try."

The next time I was home, I mentioned something to about this and my mom backed him up. "The school changed the policy" they told me. When I was in high school, phones were supposed to be out of sight and off! If a teacher saw you with one in the hallway, or at lunch, and especially in class, it was taken away and a parent had to come and get it from the office for you. Phones were to be off and put away in a locker or backpack/purse during school hours. It was definitely news to me that now the school had settled on the rule that students were allowed to carry their phones with them, and that they were allowed to be on, and use them during passing time in the halls and lunch, just not during class.

I mean, once again, it makes sense. Cell phones, especially with iPhones and other smartphones, have become such a part of our lives. Since I've been in college, I've always had my phone easily accessible and on during classes. In fact, during the moments before class and when I walked home I was usually on my phone. So although it seemed weird that the high school students were now allowed to have this freedom with their phones in school made sense, but since it was so different from my experiences there, I was a little shocked by the rule change.

I thought of this conversation in class the other day when we were talking about if students should be allowed to bring their own tech devices to the classroom. It seems to make sense that this rule would change give the point that we are at with technology today. It makes sense that these devices could therefore be used as helpful tools in classroom. My only apprehension with this at first was that they could and probably would be a distraction as students would use them for other purposes as well during class. I was intrigued by the article and discussion on how they also bring a whole new dimension to the idea of and "equitable classroom." Implementing the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) logic into a classroom posses the follow ideas about equity in the classroom:

• We should let students bring their own devices, because if we aren't letting the students use what they use in their everyday life, how are we being equitable?
• Some students may not have access to laptops or smartphones and may not be able to afford them, so this is realistically not equitable.
• Even if we gave everyone technology, there might not be enough funding to get the most up to date so the school would have to resort to purchasing something more out of date and this might not be beneficial to the students, so is this equitable?

I feel up to this point, I've had fairly strong opinions about why I don't feel that technology is necessarily beneficial to the classroom. I have never thought about it in these terms however, and I found this as a interesting critique.