Attitudes and policies on allowing students to use their own mobile device like a tablet or laptop at school have shifted greatly in just four years, according to the latest report from the Speak Up 2013 survey of students, teachers, administrators and parents released today. In 2010, 63 percent of principals said it was unlikely that they would allow students to use their own mobile devices in school. In 2013, that number dropped by almost half to 32 percent. In fact, 41 percent said they were likely to allow such usage today and 10 percent said they already do allow students to use their own mobile devices to support schoolwork in class.
The latest Speak Up report examines how technology is being used in America’s classrooms to support college and career skill preparation, and the capacity of schools and districts to support technology use in the classroom.
In addition to more educators making a connection between technology use and college and career readiness, there appears to be a financial calculation to the BYOD shift as well. More than one-third (32 percent) of technology administrators noted that having students use their own devices was an explicit school or district strategy to address ongoing budget challenges. A large majority (68 percent) of district leaders also acknowledged the cost savings of having students bring their own devices to school.
The latest report, The New Digital Learning Playbook: Advancing College and Career Ready Skill Development in K-12 Schools, is available via:http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/SU13DigitalLearningPlaybook_EducatorReport.html
