The debate over Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in the workplace is over. It’s no longer a question of “should we allow employees to use their own devices,” it’s “how do we manage the IT process so they seamlessly can?” The entire corporate world has accepted mobile as a “sometimes difficult but ultimately necessary” part of life. However, if BYOD really is the future, then shouldn’t we start to consider how it affects students in high school and college – those who really are the future workforce?

Students today have grown up with mobile technology, and the education system needs to start recognizing how important technology is for students’ success in school.

The argument: smartphones in the classroom – productive or hindering?

Our society has become heavily dependent on our mobile devices. Think about the last time you forgot to charge your phone and how it likely compromised your day. The lives of our students are very similar, if not exactly the same. Look at their tablets and phones and you will find all of the apps they need to help get them through their day, whether those apps are for education or for entertainment.

If used improperly, it’s true that mobile devices have the potential to cause distraction in the classroom. However, mobile has already become such an integral part of students’ lives that it would be ineffective to banish smartphones completely. In fact, banning mobile devices from the classroom would likely have the opposite effect, with students rebelling, ignoring the policy and in turn, hindering effective performance. If the current workforce is any indication of the future, today’s students need to have the freedom to work on their own devices as adults, so they can hone the essential skills of filtering out distractions proposed by mobile freedom early on.

“Mrs. McGavren, I’m not looking at SnapChat, I promise!” Helping teachers embrace the mobile revolution using BYOD

About 50 percent of high school students now own or have access to a smartphone or tablet, a 400 percent increase since 2007. 27 percent of administrators are open to letting students use mobile devices in school. This will only increase as time goes on.

By embracing BYOD policies, teachers could make life easier for students who are already juggling schedules that rival those of their parents’. Mobile devices will allow them to learn in ways that work with their increasingly hectic lives.

Tech vendors are also supportive of BYOD, and are actively finding ways to incorporate mobile technology into the classroom to support the learning process. Apple’s iTunes U has been a force in the educational realm for some time, while Google recently announced their educational store for Android. It is becoming apparent that there are educational benefits worth exploring with mobile technology, and it will be up to school administrators to decide how to incorporate these innovations.

With all of these technological advancements in education, the question remains: “How does a teacher get his or her feet wet with the mobile revolution?” After all, iPads are expensive, and many administrators cannot afford to supply a single class, much less an entire school, with their own Apple devices. Half the time, they cannot afford to buy pens, paper, or current textbooks.

This is where BYOD serves as a solution for the near future, if not right now.

Helping parents understand it’s their job to be a driving force for BYOD in the classroom

It is clear that classrooms need to adopt mobile technology to effectively engage with the lifestyles of students. That said, the final push encouraging educators to implement BYOD may have to come from parents, understanding that their kids will not be playing “Words with Friends” or “Angry Birds” during fifth period.

Parents have a front row seat to the increasing demands on their child’s time. Because of their own increased manageability of their lives (due to mobility policies at their own workplaces), parents understand the importance of the mobile lifestyle and expect school systems to have an equivalent answer for their children.

In fact, 62 percent of parents said they would buy their child a mobile device if it would be used for academic purposes. According to Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow, “nearly 90 percent of parents say that the effective implementation of technology in instruction will positively impact their child’s future.” Parents know what’s up.

It is quite clear that students have no problem studying remotely. We at StudyMode found that students access learning materials at all hours of the day, long before the school day starts and many hours after. It’s not uncommon that students need to study at odd hours and from odd places in order to meet the strenuous demands of their educational and personal lifestyles. For example: track practice starts at 3pm and goes until 6pm. It’s dinnertime, then piano lessons, then around 9pm it’s time to study before hitting the sack and starting over. One might say that students are perfectly suited for the advent of BYOD already.

Rather than engaging students as though they adhere to a traditional school-and-study schedule (that once revolved around library hours), schools must develop on-demand engagement policies to fully capitalize on mobile devices and their information access. It is up to parents to petition their students’ district to enact policies that better engage their students in and out of the classroom.

BYOD within education is inevitable. Mobile devices and technology are already ingrained in students’ lifestyles, and developing technological skills in a professional setting will better prepare them for the workforce they will one day enter and lead. The key is for schools to embrace new ways to teach in the social and collaborative world that today’s students live in – and it’s very possible.

photo credit: flickingerbrad via photopin cc

photo credit: Northern Ireland Executive via photopin cc