Week Nine Reflection

Essential question: Does every school need a “BYOD” policy?

My initial response to this question would have been no because there are many schools that are still lucky enough to be 1:1, mine included. However, the more I researched this topic the more I learned about what it means for students to BYOD. I was surprised to learn that while my school is 1:1 we currently are also BYOD because we have a "student network" that allows our students to connect their own devices. So quite quickly, my response to this question changed to a yes! 

In talking to our IT guy, I learned that some of the biggest legal issues facing schools today revolves around students bringing their own devices to school. So it is very important that a BYOD policy is in place if we are allowing or encouraging students to use their own devices in the classroom. "One of the biggest roadblocks to (BYOD) adoption in the education sector is security" (Martini, 2017). 

In researching, I found that there are many other cons for implementing a BYOD system at school. "A (2013) CoSN survey revealed 99% of school districts identify a need for additional bandwidth and connectivity to support the explosion of devices on the network" (Martini, 2017). At our last technology committee meeting, we were looking at our wifi contract because we will be renewing it for next year. It was astounding how much we pay for the internet that is necessary to run our schools! As we add more devices and integrate more technology into our classes our wifi needs will only continue to increase. 

Another concern "is the fairness factor: Not all students have or can afford a mobile device" (Holeywell, 2013). However studies have shown that "students who don’t have their own device actually have more access to school-owned technology when BYOD policies are in place because there’s less competition for space in the tech labs or for the tech tools owned by the school" (Holeywell, 2013). 

While there are many unknowns and BYOD can seem scary, "many of these cons can be avoided or fixed with certain policies, apps, the correct network infrastructure, and mobile device management" (Mareco, 2012).

The many pros of BYOD seems to outweigh the cons. "BYOD, with its combination of platforms and systems, is well suited in equipping students with the diverse technology skills they’ll need to succeed in the future" (Clarity Innovations, 2014).

We cannot really stop our students form bringing their devices to school, so the best thing we can do is develop a successful BYOD program which will require extensive planning, communication, ongoing evaluation, and a solid BYOD policy. 

Resources:
Clarity Innovations. (2014). K-12 Blueprint BYOD Toolkit. Retrieved from https://www.k12blueprint.com/toolkits/byod

Holeywell, R. (2013, September 3). BYOD Policies, Growing More Popular, Create Challenges for Schools. Retrieved March 16, 2020, from https://www.governing.com/blogs/view/gov-byod-policies-create-school-challenges.html

Mareco, D. (2012, September 21). 20 Pros and Cons of implementing BYOD in schools. Retrieved March 18, 2020, from https://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/20-pros-and-cons-of-implementing-byod-in-schools

Martini, P. (2017, June 25). 4 Challenges That Can Cripple Your School's BYOD Program. Retrieved March 16, 2020, from http://www.teachthought.com/technology/4-challenges-can-cripple-schools-byod-program/

Week Eight Reflection

Essential question: What game have you seen that could help students learn, and how might it be used?

Quizzizz is a formative assessment, gamification tool I've been using in my classroom for about a year and have really enjoyed.  My students really like this way to take a quiz as well.

https://itunes.apple.com/ae/app/quizizz-play-to-learn/id1160249042?mt=8

Quizzizz is a quiz game similar to Kahoot! and Quizlet.  Teachers create an account, but for students it's optional. Students access a quiz on their device or computer using an access code, and they can see both the questions and answers on their screen.

http://nordicadl.com/toolbox/quizizz/

Quizizz can be used as an in-class game or assigned for homework which students to complete on their own. While teachers can create quizzes from scratch, there is also a searchable database with tons of existing quizzes and questions that can be grabbed and edited as needed.  You can even just pick and choose select questions from already created quizzes.  I love this feature!  When creating their own quizzes, teachers can add images as well as customize the feedback students see after each question on the quiz. Feedback comes in the form of memes (either pre-made or custom), which display based on right or wrong answers.  The kids get a kick out of the memes!

Teachers also can control the use of leaderboards, question timers, and music.  Recently, I set up my quizzes as "homework" because a majority of our students were traveling for sports, but I also gave the students that were at school the opportunity to complete the quiz in class.  I wanted to keep the gamification aspect of Quizzizz so I chose to keep the leaderboard active.  Students could compete with one another if they wanted to as they moved through the quiz.  The more quickly they respond, the more points they gain.  However, their total points did not matter for their grade in the gradebook.  This was taken from their percentage of correctly answered questions.  One thing I really liked was that teachers can set up their quiz so that their students to take the quiz over again to raise their score and learn the content even more!  I set a limit of two times for my students and was very pleased with the increase in scores from the first attempt to the second attempt.

After students have completed the quiz, teachers can easily access reports that make it easy to use quiz results to inform instruction.  You can view reports online by students to see which questions they answered incorrectly or can view students' responses by question.

The data can also be compiled into an Excel spreadsheet to give the instructor a clear visual of the students’ performance in order to analyze trends in which areas might need the most focus in the future.

My students and I have really enjoyed Quizzizz.  Most of my students prefer this over the traditional paper and pencil quiz method and I saw improvement in many students! Another bonus is that Quizizz integrates flawlessly with Google Classroom.  If you haven't tried it, I would highly recommend this for your next quiz!