• Curriculum Alignment - The use should be tied directly to the academic purpose of the instructional program.
• Equity - Ensure all students have at least temporary access to a personal device in the classroom.
• Technical Capacity - The District must provide an infrastructure at the site to accommodate a greatly increased number of personal devices.
• Procedures - Formal BYOD procedures are needed since personally owned devices present risks to network security and stability.  Schools are also charged with providing a safe and secure learning environment for students that includes filtering appropriate content.

A BYOD pilot was conducted at 9 schools in the Spring of 2013 (Hillsborough HS, Strawberry Crest HS, Steinbrenner HS, Pierce MS, Barrington MS, Walker MS, Cannella Elem, Stowers Elem and Bailey Elem.)

Sites were surveyed before the project to determine interest and device access.  Results indicated that 70% of the students surveyed had laptops, 47% had tablets and 58% had smartphones.  Over 80% of the device owners wanted to be able to bring and use a personal device(s) at school.

Prior to the pilot, a team (IT Manager, DRT Technology and Tech Trainer) visited each school and shared procedural information with the administration.  The trainer was also available for faculty study on using BYOD in the classroom.  A conference was setup in IDEAS to share the documents and post information.

After the brief pilot, another survey was opened to students, staff and parents.  Results indicated that 52% of the students surveyed brought a Smartphone to school and overall 82% brought some type of device.  90% of the responding parents allowed their child to bring a device to school.

Free response from students indicated many valid reasons for using their device:

"Easy in-school access to homework, grades, or online textbooks.  Ability to do homework in class to minimize workload for home.  Ability to begin to type up essays or reports in class during extra time to be proactive."  "I like using Google translate for Spanish help and general research for assignments."

The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Initiative will be phased in as the wireless infrastructure is completed at each school.  When the wireless network is in place, schools will be able to participate in the Bring Your Own Device initiative by completing a Program Addition/Expansion Request. (see attached)