ABYODFairIntroducesthePowerofTechnology-EnabledLearningtotheCommunity
ABringYourOwnDevicepolicyallowsstudentstobringandusetheirownpersonalelectronicdevices—tablets,laptops,netbooks,etc.—atschool.Withteacherapproval,studentsmayusetheirdevicesintheclassroomtoaccessandsaveinformationfromtheInternet,collaboratewithotherlearners,andutilizetheproductivitytoolsavailabletothem.
ABYOD—orBring Your OwnDevice—Fairbringsthispolicytolife:givingschoolsanddistrictsachancetodemystifytheissueofeducationtechnologywhileempoweringthecommunitiesinwhichtheyserve.
It’saneventthatputsthe21st-Centurylearningtoolsinthehandsofstudents,parents,andfelloweducators.And—whenmakinguseofvendorpartnerships—fair-goerscanevenpurchaseor“loan-to-own”devicesandlearnhowtousethistechnologyathands-ontrainingsessions.
In August of2013, California’s Napa ValleyUnified SchoolDistrict (in conjunctionwith NapaLearnsandthe Napa Valley Education Foundation) hosted its very own BYODFair at Redwood Middle School in Napa,California.
“TheBYODFairwasanotherexampleofwhyNapaCountyisamodelforinnovativeeducationtoday,”saysElenaToscano, AssistantSuperintendent atNapa ValleyUnified SchoolDistrict. “Parents who wanted theoptionofhavingtheirchildownacomputerforclassworkandhomeworkwereabletopurchaseadistrict-recommendeddevice:atadiscountorwithanaffordablepaymentplan.Vendorswerepresenttodiscussproductsanddistrictrepresentativeswereavailabletotalkwithparentsabouthowdeviceswouldbeused.”
Theroadtocollege-andcareer-successisincreasinglypavedwithtechnology-infusededucationsolutions.BYODprogramsaredesignedtohelptoday’sstudentstoprepareforthefuturebybuildingcollaboration,creativity,communication andcritical thinkingskills. NapaValley Unifiedneeded parentsupport tohelptransition to technology-empowered education as well as a district-wideproject-based curriculum groundedinCommonCorestandardsinEnglishlanguageartsandmath.And—sincelaptopsornotebooksarethepreferredmethodofdelivery—theBYODFairwascrucialtogettingthedistrictandthecommunityonthesamepage.
“NapaUnifiedispartneringwithalocalnon-profit,NapaLearns,toexpand technology-infused project-basedlearningto 10of our 30schools,”Toscanosays. “But consideringthat Napa Unifiedis a general revenuefundeddistrictwithlimitedresources,weknewthatprovidingdevicestoour18,000studentswouldnotbesustainable,evendespitethepartnership.BYODallowsstudentsandfamiliestheoptionofbringingapersonaldevicetoschoolwhilethedistrictcreatestheinfrastructure/wirelesstosupport1:1computing.We’vehad
a BYOD model in place atNew Technology High School inNapa—the first of its kindin the nation—beforebringingtwomiddleschoolsonboard.Thisyearweaddedfourelementaryschoolsandsixthgradeattwoadditionalmiddleschoolsbringingthetotaltoten.NewTechNetworkis providingthe trainingin howtodevelop tech-infused project-based learning while we work on movingBYOD to all 30 schools in our district.”
TheNapa ValleyUnified School Districtand the surrounding community are by no meansunique in itsgoalsandchallenges.Manydistrictsacrossthecountryaremovinginthesamedirection—albeitusingdifferentimplementation models—whilemany parents are struggling to equip their children with the devices they’llneedtotakefull-advantageoftechnology-basedlearning.EventssuchasaBYODFairhelpconnectparentswiththedevicestheirchildrenneed,withtermstheycanafford.
At the NapaValley UnifiedSchool District fair, vendors anddistrict representatives consultedwith parentsandstudents, talked about options and guided them toward the right purchase. Parents of NVUSD students couldpurchase computers at a discount or could sign up for an installment payment process through NapaLearnsandNapaValleyEducationFoundation’s“Tech Connection”.Theywerealsoabletobringintheirolddevicesandhavethemassessedforuseintheclassroom,ortheirsuitabilityforrefurbishment,recyclingorevendonationforuseintheclassroom.
“Wehadaturnoutofover300peopleandtookordersforabout40computerswhichhavebeendistributed,”Toscanosays.“Wehadmanyparentsbringindevicestocheckforsuitability.Onceschoolopened,wehadmany more parentsvisit orcall theTech Connectionoffice tofind outabout termsand placeorders!”
The district’sprivate sector and education partners—NapaLearns and Napa Valley Ed Foundation—havebeen working with NVUSD for severalyears to provide technology resources. The move to BYOD presentedchallengesforthedistrictbecauseofsomanyfamilieswithlimitedincomes:somewithmultiplechildrenneedingdevices.ThismeantthatthedistrictneededtoprovideoptionsforfamiliesforwhomBYOD–evenwiththepaymentoption—wouldstillbeachallenge.
Onewaythat thedistrict was able toassure technology-empowered learning whileworking withinfinancialconstraintswas with Chromebook devices. Since they are some of the most affordable laptops availableandcanretainstudentworkinthecloud,Chromebookswereasoundsolutionforstudentswhoeitherdid
nothavetheirowndevicesorcouldnotbringadevicetoschool.Now—betweenBYODanddistrict-providedChromebooks—allstudentshaveaccesstodevices.
“We’relookingtobealighthousefordistrictstobeabletoimplementtheseCommonCore-aligned,technology-infused standards into classrooms,”says Mark Morrison, NVUSD Director of SecondaryEducation.“It will be a bit bumpy at first but I knowit’s the right direction for students.Wehaveset-upsystemsto ensure welearn by doingthroughout our district. Ifirmly believeit’sgoing to be asuccessfulimplementationand wewill continueto growtechnology infusedproject learningin NapaValleyUnified.”
Toscanofeels that that NapaValley’sfirst-everBYODFair was instrumental in notonly providing crucialinformationabouttheprogram—providingacomprehensiveoverviewoftechnology-integratedinstructionandcyber-safety—butingettingbuy-infromthecommunityatlarge.
“TheBYODFairwasanimportantstepinbuildingsupportfortheprogramwhileensuringthatmosteveryquestionand concern wasaddressed,”Toscano explains. “It was ourfirst attempt at something like this. And,inthe timesince, wehave identifiedareas to improve it thenext timearound, soit’ll only getbetter.”
TipsForImplementingYourOwnBYODFair
1.Reachouttocommunityvendorsforsupport
2.Urgevendorstoofferdiscountsandloworno-interestloansfordevices
3.Pick a convenient location and date
4.Utilizesocialmediatogetthewordout
5.Coordinatewithstaffregardingschooltechnologypoliciessothatallfacultyareonthesamepage.
6.Provide materials detailing policies and approved devices for parents and students.
7.Conductcomprehensiveworkshopsandseminarsondeviceusage,digitalcitizenship,cybersecurity,etc.
8.Allowforhands-ontestingofapproveddevices
9.Have staff and vendors on hand to answer as many questions as possible. Remember: the morequestions that are answered at yourBYODFair, the fewer you and your support staff will have to answerback at school!
10.Implementa post-eventsurvey to collectfeedback thatcan beused to make moreefficient, helpfuleventsinthefuture.