Canyon Independent School District introduced a new program called Bring Your Own Technology at the beginning of this school year after installing campus-wide Wi-Fi. BYOT enables students to bring personal laptops and smart devices to class for academic use.
Although BYOT is a step in the right direction, there are still many challenges that come along with the new program.
The school is limiting useful resources. In the current world, websites such as YouTube are no longer just for entertainment purposes. Youtube is utilized by many for educational purposes and as a learning tool. The restrictions are outdated and too strict to make the internet accessible. Students don’t want to use a Wi-Fi network where they cannot access the websites they use at home to do their homework or even watch the news. As high school students, we should be responsible enough to refrain from using the internet inappropriately.
BYOT has created a wider gap between the students with the financial resources to have the devices and the students who don’t. The argument that students who don’t have personal technology will be provided some by the school is not going to take the embarrassment away for the students who don’t have the required technology. This is unfair to those students. Nobody in high school wants to be separated from the crowd because they are not on the same financial level. The majority of students are just trying to fit in and find their place in school; this program will hinder students’ ability to do that.
For those students who do own their own personal technology, most do not want to risk the chance of bringing expensive equipment to school. The risks of damage or theft outweigh the personal gain of using one’s own technology during class. Without liability from CISD, most students do not feel comfortable bringing their prized iPads and laptops.
BYOT is an attempt to advance technology in classroom instruction, but the execution is still below par. Through time it may evolve to be accessed more often and be more versatile to all students, but for now, BYOT has issues that need to be addressed.
