Bring Your Own

In the spirit of bringing more opportunities into learning environments, more and more schools are inviting students to bring their own technology. Shortened as BYOT or BYOD for Bring Your Own Device, the concept is catching on.

AZCentral.com has an article about Phoenix-area schools that are piloting or continuing BYOT. I like the quote from Kyle Ross, Scottsdale Unified School District's director of instructional technology about cheating with digital devices. He says that instead of taking away or banning technology, they are "treating the act, not the tool."

There are many issues that schools have to consider for BYOT, including network capacity and professional development. There's a Twitter hashtag where educators are discussing issues, successes, and tips: #byotchat. Also, read 10 BYOD Classroom Experiments (and What We've Learning From Them So Far) for vignettes and articles from around the United States.

OnlineColleges.net put together an inforgraphic as a graphical overview of BYOD, including pros and cons.

Marc André Lalande in Canada put together an 8-minute cartoon titled BYOD in the 21st Century. It's Star Trek themed and lays out advantages and limitations.

Above are just a few of a growing number of resources about BYOT, and I'll be sharing more in the future.