Posted Sunday, Jan. 08, 2012
BY MELISSA WINN
mwinn@star-telegram.com
WEATHERFORD -- As state budget cuts force school districts to do more with less, Weatherford school officials devised a low-cost way to incorporate technology into the classroom.
The district launched the Bring Your Own Technology initiative to allow students to take their smartphones, laptops, e-book readers and tablets to class. Students can connect the devices to a wireless network to do research and schoolwork under the teacher's supervision.
An elementary school, a middle school and the Ninth Grade Center have piloted the program, to a warm response from students. Two hundred twenty-five students are participating.
"The research shows that the kids want to use mobile technology and we had surveyed students in the past and saw that there was a desire to use it," Chief Technology Officer Harry Jones told the school board recently.
The program saved the district $150,000, he said.
"We based that number on the initial amount of students in the program and what it would've cost to provide them with the technology had they not had their own devices," Jones said in an interview.
As part of the program, students and parents must sign an agreement on how the service will be used. Students are expected to adhere to the school district's acceptable-use policy as well as the student code of conduct.
"We're trying to build good online decision-making," Jones said of requiring both students and parents to sign the agreement.
Participants log in using their student ID, enabling the district to monitor access, Jones said. Anyone who breaks a rule can be blocked if necessary.
"The one most important thing is that the teacher has control in the classroom," Jones said. "If the teacher says to power down, it's part of the agreement that the teacher determines when devices will be used and when they won't.
"If the teacher is worried or intimidated by it, they can opt out in their classroom and just use it whenever their students need to do online research or use the Internet connection."
Jones said that before implementation, his department met with teachers to explain the program so they felt comfortable with it. And for those who worry that sensitive data may be compromised, Jones said the program is set up on a separate network so security isn't an issue.
Besides saving the district money, the initiative lets students use devices they're familiar with, Jones said. And if students prefer not to participate or don't have the approved electronics, they still have access to the school's computers and technologies.
The only cost to begin the program has been labor, Jones said, because open-source software has been used for the student logins and a local business donated the servers.
Several districts in Texas are experimenting with some form of such programs with positive results.
The Northwest district, for example, issues all sixth- to 12th-graders netbook computers at the beginning of the school year.
"This is the third year for the high school and second year for the middle school that we've been doing this," said Emily Conklin, communications and multimedia specialist.
Jones said the Weatherford district hopes to expand the program to all campuses and eventually use a cloud version.
Melissa Winn,
817-594-9902, ext. 104