Monday, October 8, 2012

BYOT New Rule: Develop Classroom Expectations for Technology Use

With BYOT implementation comes Acceptable Use policies and lots of exposure to the Technology staff of the district as they help prepare teachers for the the use of personal devices as educational tools in the classroom.  This has led to a problem in the management of classes as teachers encounter new issues or face a different kind of challenge. 

BYOT is seen as a Technology initiative and teachers seem hesitant to establish their own classroom expectations for the use of devices during class.  However, setting up classroom expectations that work within your own class is a "must-do" step for successful BYOT implementation. 

Identify a location on the student desks where students park their devices when they are not in use.  This area should be clearly visible to you as the teacher so that it is easy to ascertain who has a device and that it is in use or not in use at the appropriate times. 

Students who don't park their device may not use a device.  This helps in stopping students from keeping their device hidden out of site for off-task behaviors until you use them in the class.  If it's not placed in the parking area, then it cannot be used for classroom activities. 

Establish protocols for situations which may occur for the device.  For example, do you want to create a charging station in your room or is the rule going to be that the devices need to be charged when the students enter and no in-class charging is allowed. 

Make clear the expectations for which Wi-Fi system is allowable.  Be sure students know the process for accessing that Wi-Fi system. 

Develop expectations for how work will be turned in with the mobile devices.  Be clear about what is expected including things like the subject of messages, headings on papers, how to share properly, etc. 

Go over these expectations with students and parents.  Spending time in class with students explaining your expectations is an absolute must!  When possible, share with parents on Parent Night and during other opportunities that may arise.