Bring your own device

Bring your own device is a scheme that has been brought into practice, where the students bring their own electronic device to their sessions, such as a laptop or a tablet. This has been put into practice in a number of courses in Pembrokeshire College. 

There are many benefits and disadvantages to the, bring your own device scheme. 

Advantages	Disadvantages
Students will always have access to a device to work on, instead of relying on free devices in the library of the college	Have to rely on the students bringing the devices to class
Students will have access to the internet at all times, when in the college	They all have to tested to make sure that they are safe to use, which can take a considerable amount of time out of sessions
It allows different teaching strategies to take place	Some students may not have enough money to buy these electronic devices, or will have to wait and receive them as presents
Teachers can use a variety of different teaching tools that can benefit the different learning styles of the students	There may not be enough plugs in the room to charge the laptops when in use
The devices have to be checked for safety.  Will know if they are safe.	Some teachers may not understand how to teach sufficiently with the devices
The work that students have to complete can be saved on various devices, such as laptops, tablets and memory sticks	If the students are using their smartphones for a task then they may not put them away when asked to when the task is finished
The different devices have different applications on them to aid in their learning	All technology has the possibility to break and malfunction

More advantages and disadvantages of technology in the classroom.

 

This scheme has been put into practice with the first years of the Level 3 Animal Care students.  Here are some of the thoughts from them of the, bring your own device.

‘I think this is a good idea as it’s useful to always have a source of research and having a laptop is easier to type up notes as it is quicker and more accurate.’

‘I don’t think bringing in your own laptop was a good idea for this type of course.  Some people didn’t have laptops and so had to buy one specifically for this course.  Most lessons the laptops are not needed.  I go to the library to type and print off my work.  I prefer to do this because I concentrate better.  I still do not have a laptop because I cannot yet afford to get one for myself.’

‘I think the bring your own device course is a good idea because it helps students to be more organised and helps them not lose their work.  However, it is a bad idea because the students have to carry their laptops around with them every day.  Also the laptops run out of battery meaning everyone wants to plug their laptops in and there aren’t enough sockets.’

I believe in the future, this will be standard teaching and learning, but at present it is not efficient as most students cannot afford them or will forget to bring them in.  Also, some teachers have not got the skills to teach using technology like this, although, if more training sessions are put into place, and it is encouraged, the teachers will be more confident around it to use in lessons.   

References
Teacher Radar.pro. 'Laptops vs Tablets: which is best for a small business?'. 2013.
http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/laptops-vs-tablets-for-a-small-business-1172801 [Accessed: 5th December 2014