Skip to main content

"Go Wireless" Bring Your Own Device Initiative

This year has seen an expansion of our "Go Wireless" Bring Your Own Device initiative. Currently 325 students, over 12% of the student population have gone through training and are certified to bring their devices at the middle level. This is the equivalent of over 10 computer labs coming to school each day! The training sessions cover:
  • History of the program
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Expectations and Liability
  • Purchasing Options
  • What students CAN use the devices for
  • Acceptable Use and Consequences for missuse
  • How to connect to the wireless network
  • A short survey
  • A short Question and Answer session
At the end of the training, parents and students sign an agreement, and the students receive a sticker indicating that they are "wireless certified."
Students like the ability to access course content, take notes and stay organized on their own device, and report being able to get to work faster, than if they have to log in on a district owned computer. A survey of students last year found that 91% felt that having access to their own device improved their learning. 




The program is optional, and staff will continue to check out carts or labs when working on projects. In addition, netbooks have been purchased at each secondary school for students to access during the day, and media center hours have been extended for students needing access to course content online. A Website has been created to assist staff with the use of carts and BYO devices that is accessible from the Edina Technology Resources for Teachers site.
Suggestions for teachers interested in incorporating the devices into their instruction include:
  1. Tutorial Designer-Have students use Screencastomatic.com to create a tutorial for solving problems or completing processes.
  2. Designate student note-takers/Scribes on a Google Doc (Scribe of the day!) Then have them share with you to post on Moodle or your Google Site.
  3. Researchers-When questions come up during the period, designate a researcher of the day to look it up. You can also do this with classroom computers.
  4. Collaboration Coordinators to connect with others around the world studying the same topic, or with experts.
  5. Curriculum Review Podcast-Students could use Aviary in Edina Apps to record short podcasts as study guides on a topic
  6. Organize an exit card: Students could create questions for the class on a Google form that then can be used as an exit card for students to complete before they leave, or when they are at home.                                          Alan November via the book, Curriculum 21.

While studying the Federalist papers, Valley View Middle School Government Teacher, Scott Stadem found that rather than having students attempt to read the rather dry original documents, having access to online resources via personal devices greatly enhanced students understanding of the concepts. Some used laptops, some used iOS devices and some used mobile phones to access the information and create graphic organizers. This freed him up to roam around the room and assist struggling learners. Other staff like the fact that the responsibility for troubleshooting has been taken off their plate, since for the most part, students know their own device.

6th grade Language Arts Teacher, Jonathan Moore stated:
So far this year, students in my Language Arts classes with their own devices have shared rough drafts with me in real time, before they have even left my room; submitted assignments ahead of schedule - because they could, and also completed and submitted work from the online portion of my class. Why is this great? It's supported top-down, students are very engaged, work efficiency is increased, and collaboration goes up. 

Our next training sessions for students will be November 21, 1 p.m. in the Valley View Theater, and 7 p.m. in the South View Theater.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nos Chemins vers la paix: Award Winning Video!

Valley View Middle School French Imersion teacher, Heather Palmer created this award winning video, Nos Chemins vers la paix , for the Tel.A.Vision " Vision For America " Contest. Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com Powered by One True Media , Tel.A.Vision.tv allows students to create videos that share their vision for the future. Heather wanted to use this video to promote the Wiki she and her students created for "6 Billion Paths to Peace." On the wiki, Palmer states: Our project was inspired by the program " Six Billion Paths to Peace ", an initiative of the Shinnyo-en foundation. We like the challenge the program offers us: commit to making a difference in this moment, in this day, in this lifetime! Palmer received her award last week at the National Service Learning Conference, in Nashville, TN. Way to go, Heather! NOTE: A few weeks ago while looking at the copyright free music available on the site, I notice a cover of the "Spinal

TIES 2012: Kathryn Smith: Innovative Spaces Support 21st Century Learning

Kathryn Smith , former Bemidji State professor, presented on Innovative Spaces Support 21st Century Learning. Her presentation slides can be found here . Today, learning can happen anywhere, anytime, and on any device.  She started by using PollEverywhere to ask about the status of mobile technologies and school learning environments. She thinks that the TPACK model is a good one to use when implementing professional development around 21st Century learning. We are using this model in our BYOD professional development. Smith notes that the National Educational Technology Plan , is a great road map for change. Research has shown that the appropriate use of technology and the appropriate design of learning spaces is having a significant positive impact on learning. The learning spaces today are not that far removed from 19th Century classrooms. She showed this video from the University of Michigan on research on design of learning environment. Here are more videos fro