Infrastructure | Feature

BYOD Is Here to Stay

The discussion and implementation of the bring-your-own-device movement continues to evolve. Many school districts have moved past questions about whether it was practical to even consider and on to the point where their IT directors are working hard to make sure they have the infrastructure to provide for it.

• By Michael Hart
• 05/11/12

The discussion and implementation of the bring-your-own-device movement continues to evolve. Many school districts have moved past questions about whether it was practical to even consider and on to the point where their IT directors are working hard to make sure they have the infrastructure to provide for it.

In the May issue of T.H.E. Journal, some of the IT directors around the country with the most challenging jobs of accommodating all the various devices students are bringing to school give some advice on how to prepare your district's wireless network for BYOD. Experts representing districts from Utah to Pennsylvania and down to Florida offer some key points to keep in mind as you implement programs and suggest some important questions to ask vendors before you get started.

While those IT directors are operating in their school districts as if BYOD has moved beyond an intriguing idea to a fact of life, there remain educators who have strong feelings about the value of allowing students to bring their own phones, tablets, and laptops to school. I have to confess that the heated passions provoked by the debate over whether to allow students to bring their devices to school caught me by surprise. I talk about that a little and offer some predictions on what the outcome of the debate could be in this month's Our Space column.