For years, students have been told to power down their phones and tuck them away in the dark recesses of their backpacks.
But that has all changed for nine schools in Hillsborough County.
A new pilot program, called Bring Your Own Device, is encouraging students to bring their electronic devices to the classroom as a learning tool.
Two schools in the Plant City area, Strawberry Crest High School and neighboring Bailey Elementary School, were chosen for the pilot. The schools are newer and were chosen because of their wireless capabilities. Both schools have about 95% wireless access throughout the campus.
The district launched the nine-week program April 1, and will run it through the end of the school year. The Hillsborough County School Board then will review feedback and decide whether the program should be implemented district-wide.
“The program is going well so far,” said Sharon Zulli, manager of customer service and support at the Hillsborough County School District.
CONNECTION
The program is similar to others that have been implemented in schools throughout nation.
Students are allowed to bring “non-disruptive” devices to the school, such as tablets, smartphones and e-readers.
And although students can text, swipe, tap and click during the lesson plan, it’s limited to the classroom.
After a month of using their devices, students at Strawberry Crest have learned when and where to use them.
“You give them an inch and they want a mile,” Principal David Brown said. “But it seems to be going well. The kids are good. They haven’t been abusing it.”
The students have been using their devices mainly for research, but some teachers have been incorporating the electronics in other ways, such as Clicker, an pop-quiz app.
“This gives immediate feedback to the teachers since the student answers are calculated on the spot,” Brown said.
Virtual libraries, such as Myron Reader Center and Leon, also are available to students through their devices. Some kindergartners are even learning to read on e-reader devices.
In addition to the students, teachers also have been advocating more use of electronic devices.
“Many of the teachers are tech-savvy,” Brown said. “They understand how to use it for educational purposes.”
CONCERNS
For students without devices, the schools have their own computer labs, some portable. Students also participate in group work and partner with other students with devices. It would cost the district more than $95 million to provide each of its 190,000 students with devices.
Schools are not responsible for any theft of the devices. But, so far, Zulli hasn’t fielded any reports of theft.
“It’s no different to the extent of sports equipment or musical instruments,” Zulli said. “They’re responsible for it. They care about it.”
Although equality and theft are major concerns, the district also has been dealing with the challenge of getting all schools up to the same wireless capacity. The board’s goal is to have all schools wireless, but that is still two years away. It will cost about $11 million to equip the schools. A recent $4 million grant will help with the cost.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.