Parents Please BYOD
When parents become active participants in their child’s learning - something that is made amazingly easy with mobile devices – everyone benefits.
Right, another acronym you have to remember. On the slim chance the term BYOD has not cropped in your conversations, I’m referring to the use of mobile devices in the classroom thus ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD). I know I said parents BYOD so let me explain.
Right, another acronym you have to remember. On the slim chance the term BYOD has not cropped in your conversations, I’m referring to the use of mobile devices in the classroom thus ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD). I know I said parents BYOD so let me explain.
Texting messages by Wonderlane, on Flickr
Online collaboration, access to resources, and effective use of the Internet are increasingly becoming essentials that students need to meet the challenges of the today’s classroom and tomorrow’s workplace. Mobile devices give students opportunities to choose when, how, and where they want to learn. They can assume the responsibility for directing their learning while guided by their classroom teacher.
Imagine a classroom of motivated and engaged learners. Mobile devices get that kind of attention because students want to learn with them! Teachers who are using mobile devices in the classroom are reporting students are more interested and engaged in classroom work. The shy and reserved students are starting to flourish and teachers are finding simple but effective ways to demonstrate the relevance of the materials being taught.
I know. I was supposed to talking about parents! I’ll get to that in a minute.
It goes without saying that anything new brings out debates on the effectiveness of the methodology of a new approach to learning. Controversy easily surfaces with questions about whether students should be using their own mobile device for school work at school and at home citing objections such as: there isn’t universal access; school board policies ban their use; they are theft prone and parents have to cover the cost. Naturally many teachers and parents are worried that zero or limited access to mobile devices will create a digital divide.
In weighing in on this subject, I would argue cell phones/mobile devices have become part of the landscape. People from all walks of life are using them and mobile devices can level the playing field for students. Smaller in size and cheaper to fund then standard computer labs, all students can and should be given access to this kind of learning tool. It doesn’t have to be the parent’s responsibility to provide a mobile device. BUT – if they are using them for their own personal communications and with a little creativity, schools can use them to connect parents to the classroom and support their learning at school and at home. Research clearly has shown that the support parents give to their children at home has the greatest impact on their child’s success in schools. Schools can get the message out to parents that they can use their mobile devices to connect with the school and follow their child’s progress.
With careful planning and a desire to support families, parents could be shown how to use their own devices in the same way as mobile devices are being used in the classroom. It would become clear, very quickly, how mobile devices can benefit students and their families. Teachers could:
- Tweet out updates on activities.
- Link parents to school meetings.
- Conduct polls to gather their opinions.
- Stream events parents can’t attend.
- Provide transparent and clear access to information for everyone.
When parents become active participants in their child’s learning – something that is made amazingly easy with mobile devices – everyone benefits. Home and school partnerships are strengthened. Classroom teachers start feeling supported. Everyone on the same page. All students benefit. My kind of school.
As one of the co-host for Classroom 2.0 Live I have had the great pleasure of watching the use of mobile devices evolve and become one of the latest exciting and effective approaches to learning in the classroom. If you are looking for some resources, these are great examples of teachers effectively using web 2.0 technologies and mobile devices in the classroom.
