BYOT and Me: Teacher Perceptions of a Bring Your Own Technology Initiative

BYOT and Me: Teacher Perceptions of a Bring Your Own Technology Initiative Ilana Jones Abstract Educational institutions have begun to implement Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT also referred to as Bring Your Own Device or BYOD) initiatives. The purpose of a BYOT implementation is to encourage active student learning resulting in increased student achievement through the use of personal, mobile technology devices. To achieve implementation success, school-leaders and teachers must develop effective strategies to manage the integration of BYOT into classroom teaching practices. The purpose of this research was to explore teacher perceptions regarding the implementation of a school-based BYOT initiative. This case study consisted of asynchronous online interviews of 12 high school teachers working in a Title I School in Charlotte, North Carolina currently involved in a school-wide BYOT initiative. Follow-up email exchanges and a document review phase of nine teachers as well as school-building administrators were also included in this research. The results of this study indicate: confidence in personal technology ability may not be a factor in a teacher’s willingness to integrate BYOT; personal technology use and experience may not influence a teacher’s decision to incorporate BYOT; technology-centered teacher training offerings may have little influence on the classroom integration of BYOT; in order to be deemed effective, BYOT professional development opportunities should be relevant to specific content areas and customized to meet the needs of adult learners; and finally, teachers in this study reported that BYOT initiatives may actually increase the digital divide amongst students resulting in classroom management issues that outweigh BYOT benefits. The implications of this study are significant in that it is imperative for school district leaders and professional development designers to understand the factors that influence a teacher’s decision to revise current teaching practices to integrate new technologies as well as understand the classroom challenges associated with a BYOT implementation. Obtaining this knowledge will assist school-leaders in building a foundation in which effective professional development sessions are developed to better address the needs of teachers being asked to carry out BYOT initiatives

A Study of the Application of a Bring Your Own Device Strategy in an Elementary School

Numerous studies have been published on the efficacy of a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) at the U.S. secondary and postsecondary school levels to increase student access to technology. However, there is a lack of data on the efficacy of a BYOD AUP to increase elementary student technology access. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to determine if a BYOD AUP at the U.S. K-5 level would increase students\u27 access to technology as necessitated by the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This study was grounded in social transmission and transformative theories. The phenomenon of a northwest suburban elementary school BYOD implementation was examined by documenting the perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, lived experiences, and practices of administrators and teachers. This study used interview and classroom observation of a purposive selection of 3 elementary educators, the principal, and superintendent. Coding of data according to key words lead to analysis according to nodes and themes. Triangulation of multiple data sources and member checking helped to establish the credibility of data. Study findings documented increased access to technology for elementary students, best practices and steps to implementation. Study recommendations for elementary educators and administrators considering BYOD include consensus building, AUP, technology infrastructure, communications, professional development, classroom management, and lesson design to inform the field on elementary BYOD. Study findings facilitate social change by providing BYOD implementation recommendations, increasing elementary student access to technology at a reduced cost to districts and schools

To take or not to take the laptop or tablet to classes, that is the question

In recent decades, so-called mobile learning or m-learning has become a new paradigm in education as a consequence of technological advances and the widespread use of mobile devices to access information and for communication. In this context, this paper analyzes different profiles depending on students’ preferences for taking mobile devices (specifically tablets and/or laptops) to economics classes at the University of Seville (Spain). A survey-based field study of a sample of 412 students and the application of bivariate probit models show a low level of mobile device integration in teaching (devices taken to class by only 29.8% of respondents) with a slight predominance of laptops. The results also show differences between users of the two types of devices. Students who take their laptops to class usually live at home with their family, have already used them in pre-university levels, and are concerned about recharging their devices in class. However, although users who take their tablets to class also live with their parents, they are much more active on social network sites and more concerned about the quality of the internet connection. These findings enable the design of strategies to encourage students to attend class with their own mobile devices

Exploring Culturally Responsive Teaching and Student-Created Videos in an At-Risk Middle School Classroom

As the United States public school classrooms encounter notable shifts in student demographics and increased access to technology, teachers face the dual challenges of cultural and digital differences as they attempt to build relationships with students and develop responsive and relevant instruction. Framed by culturally responsive teaching, this qualitative study explored how one middle school teacher and his students in two summer school English classes interacted with and responded to novel technology-based instructional approach that sought to connect the students’ lives outside of school to the classroom. The findings suggest that involving the students within this culturally responsive teaching approach using student-created videos informs the contribution of both the teacher and the students for connecting home and school contexts with a CRT framework

Bring your own devices classroom : issues of digital divides in teaching and learning contexts : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Technology at Massey University, Albany campus, New Zealand

Since the late 1990s, digital divide has gathered much attention from the research community and government organizations. The education sector has been an important area of inquiry for many researchers, as they strive to inform government initiatives on strategies to address digital divide issues prevalent here. This study reports on how existing and new digital divides have evolved with increased penetration of digital learning technologies into teaching and learning practices and the wide usage of enabling technologies by students across formal and informal learning spaces (i.e. both in- and out-of-school), within the context of a BYOD (bring your own device) classroom initiative. A five-year longitudinal investigation of a BYOD classroom initiative by a New Zealand school helped to gain insights into different nature of digital divides in the learning process. First, the BYOD classroom initiative did not end up accentuating existing gaps in access to digital devices and information, despite initial results indicating towards a potentially digitally divided classroom. Second, the study strongly indicated the presence of gaps in terms of information literacy and critical thinking ability, which was eventually bridged in the later stage, as students slowly adjusted to the classroom curricular structures in the BYOD classroom. Third, learner self-efficacy has been identified as the most influential determinant of learning outcomes among students. In earlier phases of investigation of BYOD classrooms initiative, learner self-efficacy was found to be influenced by digital capability, in combination with information literacy, critical thinking ability, and positive motivation. However subsequently, self-efficacy influences affordances in various aspects of social cognitive abilities related to individual’s learning activities affecting how learners engage and apply technology to shape their learning outcomes. The study findings will inform policy makers and education government agencies, in their ongoing quest for bringing about inclusive digital transformation and overall improvement in learning outcomes

How Teachers Are Using Technology at Home and in Their Classrooms

A survey of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers shows that digital tools are widely used in their classrooms and professional lives. Yet, many of these high school and middle school teachers worry about digital divides when it comes to their students' access to technology and those who teach low-income students face obstacles in bringing technology into their teaching