Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Driven to distraction: bringing your own device to school could hinder learning

With technology becoming cheaper, more

powerful and more mobile, a new trend in education is emerging – bring your own device (BYOD).
Borrowing from the business world, bringing your own device simply refers to students bringing in their own portable phones, tablets and computers to use in the classroom.
Much attention has been paid to the financial and infrastructure issues associated with this trend, like problems with network security and the toll it takes on wifi networks. There are also important equity issues – after all, not every student can afford an iPad.
But less attention has been given to how it will impact student learning. And there is some evidence that it could be distracting students more than it’s helping them.