BYOT - Bring Your Own Technology

Many schools have begun to encourage students to bring their mobile phone or tablet to school so that they can use it during class to access instructional resources, participate in online discussions and interact with curricular materials. It's called "BYOT - Bring Your Own Technology" and a recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 73% of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers have students use the technology in class to complete assignments. Dan Domenech of the American Association of School Administrators reports that about 25% of schools now allow phones. George Fornero, a Chicago area superintendent described his districts rationale. "The kids taught us a lesson. They're still going to bring their phones anyway, so let's allow them to use them in a constructive way." More detail about these initiatives is available from a recent USA Today article. 

 I'd enjoy learning from you about whether your school welcomes student use of phones and tablets on campus. 

Mandating Social Media Education

New Jersey is considering a law that would require middle schools teach students about the acceptable use of social media. The law would have students learn about the appropriate use of social media, cyber security and preventing cyber bullying. Legislators say they recognize the powerful impact of social media on students and they want to assure that they don't make foolish mistakes that may impact them for the rest of their lives.

Sounds like a great idea to me. I'd like to know what you think about this proposal.

Bad Online Behavior and College Admissions

A recent study by Varsity Outreach reported that many colleges are using Facebook as a recruiting tool. Over 80% of responding schools said they used Facebook for admissions purposes and 89% said that Facebook is "very or somewhat" important in their process. But many of the same colleges are also using Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to learn more about applicants. Education Week reports that a 2011 survey by Kaplan Test Prep found that 24% of colleges said they viewed publicly available pages to get a better idea about potential students. 20% used Google. 12% said they found evidence of bad online behavior like underage drinking, vulgar language, and other behaviors. The Washington Post reported on a study conducted by SafetyWeb where 38% of college admissions directors said that "an applicant's social profile 'negatively affected' their views of the applicant.

These data remind us of the importance of teaching students about responsible online behavior including information about how easily accessible most of their online postings are to others. It provides an opportunity to discuss online safety, and how to set controls on their accounts.

It raises some interesting questions. Should college's be prohibited from searching online to learn about applicants? What should families do to monitor their children's online profile? We'd enjoy hearing from you about this subject.