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
|
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
