the great device debate: choosing a computer solution: cows vs. 1:1 vs. byod

7/28/2019 The Great Device Debate: Choosing a Computer Solution: COWS vs. 1:1 vs. BYOD

1/10

NET ASSETS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012000

THE

GREATDEVICE

DEBATEBY DONNA DAVIS


2/10

WWW.NBOA.NET 1

PHOT

OTOPLEFT,COURTESYMOORECO,INC.

Choosing aComputer Solution:

Back in the old days (about 20 years ago),the cutting-edge school filled its library or brand-newcomputer lab with rows of bulky desktop computers. Then,as lighter laptops arrived, schools started adding them tothe tech inventory, pushing the devices around on carts fromclass to class. Now its the age of backpack- and pocket-sizedmobility as tablet computers and smartphones become thedevices of choice. A computing dilemma has evolved alongwith the devicesshould independent schools supply tech-nology to a class or group of students at a time, provide themwith a 1:1 program that gives students laptops or tablets, orallow students to bring their own technology to school? Inspeaking to a number of schools with different solutions, itsclear that each approach has its advantages, disadvantages,and sometimes risksfinancially, pedagogically, and legally.

COWSVS.

:VS.

BYOD


3/10

NET ASSETS

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 201216

COWs (Computers on Wheels)At Gig Harbor Academy, the COW is the computer animal ofchoice. The preschool-through-5th-grade campus in GigHarbor, Washington, has been using Computers on Wheelsfor several years. Once, there were just a few laptops on acart, recently, donations have allowed the school to upgrade

to two separate carts for iPads and MacBooks.Jenny Buys, Gig Harbors Technology Specialist and a high

school internet technology teacher, says the carts serve theschool well for financial and practical reasons. The schoolstechnology budget doesnt allow for a 1:1 program and the twotypes of Apple devices serve both younger and older studentswhile working seamlessly together.

In preschool through grade two, youre talking about littlehands. For them, the laptops are cumbersome, Buys says. TheiPads also start up faster than a laptop, an important advan-tage in the lower grades 30-minute classes. The laptops allowolder students to do more sophisticated, online work.

Teachers deploy the carts as needed throughout the schoolday, and so far, scheduling has not been a challenge. A largerschool might have to set up a more sophisticated system,Buys notes. And although a sprawling campus might needmore carts to save teachers from havingto push them from building to building,Gig Harbors small campus makes it easyto move the carts. Most manufacturersmake carts that lock, limiting unauthor-ized access to the computers.

Laptop and iPad carts vary in price.Business Manager Paul Hoover notesthat the school paid about $1,200 for thelaptop cart and $2,800 for the iPad cart.He expects to buy another cart to hold theadditional laptops and iPads the schoolplans to buy for the 2012-13 school year.

Students arent responsible for charg-ing the devices. The batteries are robustenough to last through an entire schoolday, and teachers make sure each cartwhich charges all of the devices on itisplugged in overnight.

For the 2012-13 school year, Gig Harbor will have 48 iPadsand 13 MacBooks, enough to accommodate the average classsize of 12 students. Hoover and Buys, however, stop short ofsaying its COW capacity makes it a 1:1 school. Thats not ourselling point, Buys says. We want the curriculum to inspirethem to become creative with the technology.

A study published in the British Journal of Educational

Technology (in the ancient year of 2005) touted COWs as amoney-saving alternative to 1:1 programs and a more flex-ible, space-saving option when compared to computer labs.Results indicate positive teacher technology competenceand confidence, as well as instructional strategies that werestudent-centered and made meaningful uses of technology,the researchers concluded.

Aside from coordinating usage among dozens of classesand dealing with battery issues, COWs have their drawbacks.In an age where 20 percent of third grade students havecell phones and 90 percent of them are online (accordingto a 2011 Bridgewater University study), having ones own

technology is quickly becoming the norm. As students be-come more and more dependent on their own devices, theyalso become more expedient at learning crucial technologyskills for the 21st century. In this brave new world, having towait to check out a computer from a cart may be a liabilityschools cant afford.

1:1Ask Mary Kay Markunas, BusinessManager for the Avery CoonleySchool in Downers Grove, Illinois,about how the 1:1 tablet program

works at her school. Answer: Itsnot complicated.Schools like Avery Coonley that

choose 1:1 technology programs

INPRE-KTHROUGHGRAD

E2,YOURETALKINGABOUTLITTLEHANDS.LAPTOPSARECUMBERSOME.


4/10


5/10

NET ASSETS


that provide each student with a computing device, usually alaptop or a tablet. Choices about software, security, and usagediffer, however, with each school, depending on the ages ofthe students, educational mission, and culture.

Since students usually use their school-issued computersat school and at home, 1:1 allows schools to control usageby placing their own monitoring software and filters on the

deviceswhich translates to the tighter security that someschools want. Other 1:1 schools like the consistency and par-ity of having every student and teacher using the same device.On the other side, 1:1 also means the school must maintain,repair, update, and replace devices as needed, which can betime-consuming and costly.

Avery Coonley, an early childhood through 8th-gradeschool, issues HP tablet computers to its 120 middle schoolstudents. The school leases the devicesand replaces them every three years, sothat at some point in the cycle, each stu-dent will receive a new tablet. The school

uses COWs in the lower grades, butthe cart doesnt help in middle school,Markunas says. We want them to usethe tablets for homework.

Markunas said the key requirementstech directors and business officers shouldlook for in a tablet are machines that willhold up to wear and tear and a good insur-ance policy for the inevitable breakage ormalfunctions. Students are liable for thetablets cost if it is lost or stolen.

At The Urban School in San Francisco

(grades 9-12), Apple laptops are the 1:1choice. All 375 students, alongwith all faculty and staff mem-bers, receive individual laptops.Students get MacBook Airs(think lighter backpacks) loadedwith the schools required softwareand protected by three-year war-ranties. Freshmen get their com-puters during orientation week andtest their internet connections fromhome. They must bring the laptopsin every year to be re-imaged, but atthe end of three years, students owntheir computers. Seniors get new laptops that they can buyat the used value or return to the school when they graduate.Director of Finance and Operations Susan Munn says manyseniors elect to buy a new laptop on their own for college.

The school replaces faculty and staff laptops every three years,either donating them or selling them to employees. Urban alsobuys extended warranties and keeps about 30 loaners onhand. The bulk of the worksetting up 200 new laptops andre-imaging of old onesoccurs in the summer.

The annual $620 per-student laptop fee pays for the equip-ment, Munn says, and buying in bulk provides discounts onhardware and software that individual students could not ac-cess. For 2012-2013, Urban has budgeted $750,000, or aboutsix percent of the schools $12 million budget, for technology.Those expenses included salaries and benefits for three full-time employees.

Munn says The Urban School chose laptops, first, becausetablets did not exist when the program started in 2000, andsecond, because they provide the additional computing capa-bility high school students need. The Urban School electedto buy its laptops so that the school could retain, sell, orgive away the computers and avoid the increased paperworkinvolved in leasing. Leasing, though, can be a good option forschools that dont want to make a large investment up front,

Munn says. The advantages include lowering the total cost ofthe program and the ability to return the equipment.

Providing everyone the same equipment makes technologyeasier to manage and levels the playing field for students whocant afford the latest, fastest computer, Munn says. Thirtypercent of our students are on financial aid. We want to beconscious that whatever we do is available to all kids.

A 2010Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessmentreview of four 1:1 program studies found that despite differ-

ences in devices and use, the programs that the researchersexamined led students and teachers to increase their technol-ogy use, fostered more student interest and engagement, andshowed modest gains in student achievement. But, as one ofthe studies noted, It is impossible to overstate the power ofindividual teachers in the success or failure of 1:1 computing.Hallmarks of a successful program included teacher buy-in,strong professional development and technology training, andcommitment to transforming student learning.

1:1SCHOOLS

LIKETHE

CONSISTENCY

ANDPARITYOF

EVERYONE

HAVINGTHE

SAMEDEVICE.


6/10

NET ASSETS


BYOD

Computer labs, COWs, and 1:1 programs have establishedthemselves as computing options for independent schools,but the newest species in the technology taxonomyone thathas first found its place in the for-profit sectoris BYOD,Bring Your Own Device, or BYOT, Bring Your OwnTechnology.

Kent School represents that evolution, moving from itsplace as one of the nations first schools to implement 1:1 toits new role as a BYOD institution. The school started issuingWindows laptops to every student and teacher in 1995 andin later years, tablet PCs. The Kent, Connecticut, boardingschool instituted the BYOD program this year.

The change came about after the schools TechnologyCommitteeseven faculty members, three technologystaffers, and the business managerdecided to reassessacademic technology at Kent (everything from hardware tosoftware to printing to internet use).

We felt it was time to take a fresh look in light of various

changes in the computing landscape: cloudcomputing, the advent of iPads and other tabletdevices, and the proliferation of smartphones,says Manager of Information Technology Melis-sa Holcombe. Not to mention the increasingnumber of our students who had their own lap-top in addition to one provided by the school.

A survey of students showed they stronglypreferred choosing their own device to aschool-supplied computer.We decided we neededto find a way to give them

the best of both worldsallowing them freedom tochoose the computer thatbest suited them, while stillmaintaining a high level ofsupport, Holcombe says.

The transition wentsmoothly. Students receiveddetails last spring on minimumcomputer requirements and recom-mendations on what to purchaseand where. Students can bring a PCor Mac laptop, but not iPads or othertablets. Those devices lack the function-ality and computing power the schoolrequires, although tablets are welcomefor personal use, Holcombe says. Theschool has a loaner pool for studentsthats free for the first month, then $2a day afterwards. Families in the highestfinancial-aid bracket are eligible to applyfor vouchers in amountsdetermined on a case-by-case basis.

Kent had to expand its Arubawireless network beyond its publicareas to include the dormsthebiggest and costliest change ingoing BYOD. The school alsochose Ericoms PowerTerm forremote application delivery of

MS Office Suite and other es-sential academic software andinstalled an SSL-VPN portalthat allows off-campus access.Holcombe believes the movewill save Kent money over the long run,although for the first two years, money saved from notsupplying student computers will go toward network up-grades and new licensing costs. Rather than cost savings,Holcombe emphasizes that the change is more about creat-ing the kind of educational environment the school desires.

Shorecrest Preparatory School in St. Petersburg, Florida,

is also rolling out a BYOD program with a twiststu-dents bring their own devices, but the device must be

an iPad. The tech department recommended thetablet because the school was already using Appledevices and most students in a 7th-grade BYODpilot program brought in iPads. Plus, says AnnaBaralt, Instructional Technologist and Chair ofthe Technology Department, iPads are relativelyinexpensive compared to laptops.

This year, the BYOD program is optionalfor 5th through 12th graders, and the

school has a supply of iPads on hand

for students who dont yet haveiPads. Shorecrest received a grantfrom the Benedict Foundation thatwill subsidize the purchase of 20 to30 iPads for upper school studentson financial aid. The school isalso consulting with Apple aboutfinancing and leasing programs.

Teachers will also get theirown iPads, and so will divisionheads. Research shows that if your

administrators are not involved withthe equipment and having someexperience with the technology, it

can impact how the program isimplemented, Baralt says.Parents and students must attend

an orientation session and sign a usagepolicy and mobile computing device contract

(specific to both the middle and upper schools)before the student can bring an iPad to campus.

Fully implementing the BYOD iPad programwill take time. Thats been our lesson learned

OURSURVEYSHOWEDTHESTUDENTSSTRONGLYPREFER

CHOOSINGTHEIROWNDEVICE.


7/10

NET ASSETS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012000 NET ASSETS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 201222

As more independent schools

explore and adopt BYOD,

administrators need to assess

their security and privacy risks

in allowing sta and students

to use their own devices on and

o campus.

SECURITY

Schools that allow teachers

and sta to BYOD must plan

to protect sensitive informa-

tion such as financial aid and

payroll records, student and

employee files, and donor

lists. Schools face risks if the

employees device is lost,

stolen, acquires a virus, or gets

hacked, or if the employee

leaves under hostile circum-

stances. The protections

that exist with an employer-

supplied deviceencryption,

password-protected informa-

tion, monitoring software, and

the ability to wipe data

from terminated employees

devicesmight not be avail-

able for BYOD employers.

WAGE ISSUES

BYOD schools also need to

consider wage issues involving

hourly employees. Your part-

time development coordinator

might decide its easier to input

a list of new donors at home.

You have to be sure he is

getting paid for that time; either

limit the amount of work done

at home or develop some

sort of tracking system, says

Suzanne King, Partner at

Schwartz Hannum PC.

CONDUCT

With BYOD for students,

schools must deal with

another set of issues, espe-

cially those involving whether

students personal use violates

the schools conduct rules.

Schools have to make it clear

in the student handbook that

just because students are doing

something at home on their

own computers, they are not

absolved from school conduct

rules, King says.

Michelle-Kim Lee, Associate

at Schwartz Hannum, adds that

schools need to be aware ofcyber-bullying and plagiarism.

Any stated policy that exists

regarding bullying and plagia-

rism should also apply if the

student is using his or her own

laptop or computer for school.

PRIVACY

Schools must also be sensitive

to student privacy. A student

who is using her device outside

of school to campaign againstplastic shopping bags at local

stores probably would not be

subject to school conduct rules

because she is engaged in a

personal, political activity,

King says.

FORMING A PLAN

A strong BYOD policy for

students and sta can help

address risks. Schools can take

instruction from the corporate

world, which has led the way

in creating tight BYOD policies

and agreements. Some employ-

ers with BYOD policies

usually ones that deal in intel-

lectual propertyhave strict

ground rules. Those companies

tell employees, Go ahead and

bring your own device, but

we are going to make it look

like our device and put our own

software on it to protect

the companys intellectual

property, King says.

Schools may not have the

technology or the desire to

implement that high level of

control, but there are real risks

for schools in allowing use of

personal devices in a context

that is unregulated, King warns.

To formulate a policy and

plan, schools can begin with a

BYOD audit. Some questions

to ask include:*What information is the

school trying to protect?

*What is the best way to

do that?

*What are the schools

conduct rules and how do

they apply to BYOD?

*How much latitude does the

student have to use devices

in the classroom?

*How does the school protect

user privacy?*What technology- and

computer-related problems

has the school had in the

past with technology use by

students and sta?

*What should the schools

policy be for hourly staers

who work at home?

*What type of technology and

software does the school

have and what might it need

to implement the desired

polices? For example, does

the school want to add

encryption of data, pass-

word-protected access, or a

separate school portal other

than the school website?

King and Lee suggest

consulting with both the school

counsel and the technology

team in creating a BYOD policy

that fits the schools culture.

So far, King and Lee have

not heard of any independent

schools approaching BYOD as

aggressively as the corporate

world, but they predict schools

will catch up. The biggest

problem of BYOD is that the

line between personal life and

work is so blurred. Our culture

around privacy hasnt caught

up to those lines blurring.

THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF BYOD


8/10

NET ASSETS


its a multi-layered process, says Chief Financial OfficerKaren Moore. You cant just issue hardware and say Im done.

While Kent and Shorecrest are relative BYOD newbies,Harrisburg Academy students are veteran BYOD-ers.

Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Academy has entered the secondyear of its One-To-One, Bring Your Own Device initiative.In 2011-12, the academy started allowing its 9th-graders to

bring their own laptopssomething the 415-student pre-school through 12th-grade day school had previously banned.

Technology Director Bob Bell says administrators wereadapting to the timesstudents already had their ownlaptops, they were comfortable using them, and they had foundways to access the schools internet and bypass its filters.

The 9th-grade teachers had trepidations at first, Bellrecalls, but that all died out within two months. They won-dered how they could survive in a classroom with half a dozendifferent computers, but they came to realize that when Johnwas using a PC and Sally a Mac, they were seeing and doing thesame thing.

Next year, the BYOD program will expand to the entireupper school, a faster timetable than originally planned.The school is using a blended approach, and continuing tooperate a 1:1 approach for some of its grades.

Bell belongs to a local consortium of tech directors, most of

them from public schools, and severalhave moved away from 1:1. Somehave been trying 1:1, but budget issueshave made it cost-prohibitive and theyhave no choice but BYOD.

Bell also sees attitudes changingamong families. A decade ago,

parents balked at buying a computerfor their students. They felt they werepaying a lot for tuition, why couldntthe school buy the computer? Now,the mindset has changed.

Caveat ComputerWhatever solution schools choose, Munn has advice for mak-ing it work. She recommends making technology a strategicinitiative, with committed leadership at the top. Provideprofessional development for faculty. And add a robustinfrastructurea wireless network that isnt constantly crash-

ing or has dead spots. Hire a cutting-edge tech staff and puttogether a dynamic tech committee across school disciplines.Hiring tech-savvy teachers also helps, both in the classroomand in helping train other teachers.

Strong usage policies that administrators review annually

BUDGETISSUESHAVEMADE1:1

PROHIBITIVEANDTHEYHAVE

NOCHOICEBUTBYOD.


9/10


10/10

WWW.NBOA.NET 2

their own computers quickly to keep up withtech advances.

Relinquishing control holds some schoolsback from BYOD. When it comes to technol-ogy, you will never really control students.They all have cell phones in their pockets andfind ways to create their own hotspots and get

around your web filters. Protecting studentsdevices from viruses and pornographic sitesremains important, but differs from controllingthe apps and software they use, Gliksman adds.

Gliksmans iPads in Education website (ipad-educators.ning.com) explores the use of iPads and e-books, aswell as BYOD, as tools to promote student-centered, experien-tial learning. He likes iPads for their quick startup, portability,and all-purpose, multi-media capabilities.

More important than the technology, however, is having aclear philosophy and pedagogy around its use. The schools thathave the most success with technology in the classroom are the

ones where the teachers let go. Give the students the questionand let them use the technology to work out the answer.

Holcombe predicts more secondary schools will find theyneed to consider BYOD, with an ever-increasing number ofstudents and families making their own technology choices

regardless of what the school may provide. Fortu-nately, technological advances in areas such as desk-top virtualization and remote application deliverymean that the specific computer a student uses nolonger has to matter, she adds.

Beyond BYOD, smartphones are finding theirway into classroom technology. Some schools are

already allowing students to use smartphones totake instant quizzes, snap photos of whiteboardnotes, use apps such as the interactive PeriodicTable of the Elements, or click on QR codes totake them instantly to educational websites.

The discussion has begun, in part, because cell phone usehas become widespread among students. A 2011 study for theMassachusetts Aggression Reduction Center found that bymiddle school, more than 80 percent of students have theirown cell phone and more than 90 percent of those studentsuse their phones to access the internet (although not all ofthose phones are necessarily smartphones).

Says Harrisburg Academys Bell, At some point weare going to have to let students decide what machine worksfor them. If they are learning what they need to learn,what difference does it make what they use, as long as itdoes the job?

WHENIT

COMESTO

TECHNOLOGY,

YOUWILL

NEVERREALLY

CONTROL

STUDENTS.

TUITION

MANAGEMEN

T

FINAN

CIALAI

D

ASSESSMENT

ADMISSIONS

&

ENRO

LLMENT Online Admissions and Enrollment onlineadmissions and enrollment customized to your school.

We collect all fees and required documentation fromyour families and give you powerful, extensive reporting.

True Financial Aid Auditingwe take time tounderstand the nancial situation of your families,ensuring that your aid is delivered to those truly in need.Some nancial aid processes simply check one or twonumbers; we have over 140 criteria to ensure real need.

Flexible School-Wide Billing System bill andmanage any fee at any point throughout the year. Oursystem lets you manage tuition deposits, re-enrollmentor new admissions application fees, sports, eld trips andeven lunch program charges with ease; one invoice forall charges, school-wide.

In-House Service and Support ourhighly trained staworks with your familiesto ensure our high standards are met.

tads.com | [email protected] | 1.877.477.TADS

Integrated systems andgreat support ensureTADSschools are happy schools

A PROUD

the great device debate: choosing a computer solution: cows vs. 1:1 vs. byod

Documents