BYOD

The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program was rolled out in November to allow technology to be incorporated into the curriculum more readily.

Under the BYOD program, students have a device, whether school-issued or their own, with them at school every day. The school provides anywhere from 60 to 90 day loaners per day and has 50 long-term loaners.

“[The loaner program] went very well,” librarian Kimberly Honey said. “…There was this misconception that students would be late to class because they have to wait for a chromebook, but we actually timed how long it takes for a student to walk through the door and check out a chromebook and it takes less than 90 seconds. We got the check-out and check-in system down really fast.”

According to Instructional Technology Specialist Brian Calnan, the program has been an overall success.

“I think there was definitely some hesitation at the beginning,” Calnan said. “Just people weren’t sure what it was going to be. Was it going to totally change what their classes would look like? Were they just going to be on computers all day? But I think it ended up being a lot smoother than a lot of people expected.”

Looking forward, Calnan hopes that teachers continue to think about designing lesson plans that make use of the technology now at every student’s disposal.

“I don’t want students to have to carry around a device and use it once a day and I don’t want them using it seven periods a day either,” Calnan said. “[The school should be] finding that balance and just consistently using it as it becomes integrated into part of [the students’] learning.”