Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Launches September 2015 Students in Grades The How of BYOD

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1 Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Launches September 2015 Students in Grades 9-12 The How of BYOD How is the school preparing for a successful launch of a BYOD for students in Grades 9 12? This document covers a range of topics from wireless interconnectivity to student preparation and teacher professional development, safety and security, and financial consideration. There is likely more technical information in here than most readers will want; however, there will be some in our community for whom this is what they want to know. This document starts simply and then gets more complex as it goes. The take home message is that through careful preparation, we anticipate the move to a BYOD approach to be more of a ripple rather than a wave. What part of how are you most interested in learning about? Click on the topic below to move more quickly through this document. Preparing the learners Preparing the learning environment Preparing policies, guidelines and procedures Preparing financially Preparing the school environment Preparing the Learners Over the past two to three years, the school has offered, and will continue to offer, students education in digital citizenship and general internet safety. The school also provides specific technology training to new students in the fall. This year, teachers are being asked to recommend students who require extra technology support to the IT department, so they can take part in additional training sessions. The school employs antivirus and web filtering software for the protection of students, and we will build further awareness of the threats of hacking, malware, spam, phishing, online forums, and blogs which enable many forms of harassment, bullying, and personal safety. Students are generally comfortable with their own devices and, hence, rely less on teacher assistance for basic use. In schools with a BYOD model, peer-to-peer support is most often the way technology challenges are solved in classes. BYOD The How 1 of 5 pages Updated: November 26, 2014

2 Preparing the Learning Environment 1. The impact of BYOD on Curriculum Decisions and Delivery Havergal has long sought to prepare all students to be safe, responsible digital citizens with strong computing skills and a solid critical awareness of the current digital landscape by the time they graduate. Rather than imposing mandatory computing or technology courses, the school has sought to embed the development of these skills and awareness into the curriculum in a manner that is age- and stage-appropriate and in ways that are pedagogically sound. As a result, the adoption of specific software applications used by students in specific subjects and grade levels has steadily evolved over the past 15 years. At present, there are numerous courses that rely on specific computer-installed and web-based applications, and there are specific courses such as Grade 7 and 8 Science that have deliberately integrated the teaching of specific technology applications into their curriculum. In each grade, teachers have chosen certain applications to use in their class and the school s IT staff have worked closely with the faculty to develop and deploy centrally managed, uniform, and tested computing environments for each academic department. This approach enabled teachers and students to focus primarily on the curriculum and not on the technology. It also reflects Havergal s historical decision eschew the 1 to 1 laptop school approach in favour of a measured, strategic deployment of technology in the curriculum. In a BYOD environment, students would be using their own devices that run a variety of operating systems. Our student survey shows that there are four distinct groups of student devices: Apple Macintosh, Apple ios devices, Microsoft Windows devices, and Google Android devices. Even within each group, there would be no guarantee that a single collection of applications would work, since different versions of each operating system would be in use from one student device to another, leading to application compatibility issues. Thus, in a BYOD environment, the applications that are currently installed on Havergal-provided computers would not necessarily be available to students. Teachers will be making decisions about which applications are essential to their curriculum and which can be replaced, most likely with a web-based application. This will result in some changes to what students experience in class activities. Web-based applications are less likely to require curricular changes than laptop/desktop applications. However, most tablets (ipads, Galaxy Tabs, Playbooks) have reduced feature set web browsers due to specialized power requirements and less powerful CPUs (compared to laptops and desktops). Additionally, web applications that use Adobe Flash, JavaScript, or Sun Java plug-ins will simply not work on many tablets. Thus, the BYOD plan for Havergal includes the retention of some desktop computer labs for courses that rely on software that can only run on desktop computers due to their heavy computing requirements (e.g. Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Apple Final Cut Pro, etc.) The MML, C48, Resource Centre will continue to have desktop computers with a standardized platform. The school will also retain some laptop carts for specialized software in other courses, for example Math, Science, or Geography that are not commonly available on student-owned devices. BYOD The How 2 of 5 pages Updated: November 26, 2014

3 2. Professional Development for Faculty Throughout , all faculty will take part in specific technology training for BYOD implementation. Professional development around the basic device features and capabilities will be provided to teachers to increase their comfort level with having these diverse sets of devices in the classroom and to raise teacher awareness of the potentially innovative and enriching uses of these devices. Professional development will be provided in how to use specific software and specific web-based tools. The provision for PD around technology does not imply that teachers will be expected to teach students how to use their devices, rather that they will provide general criteria for a task and students will use their own device to meet those criteria. Believe it or not, I have found fewer disruptions because it forces teachers to focus on teaching not the tech. When all were school owned, the teachers tended to have them all working on computers at the same time, doing the same task. So when a student had a problem, it stopped everything. With different devices, students are all at different places. For example, some are handwriting notes on an ipad, some are typing notes in Word, some are organizing ideas in Inspiration. When students work on projects they are using software they know well, creating projects with their learning style. Students are much better trouble shooters on their own device Comment from Group Member of IT List Serve Preparing Policies, Guidelines and Procedures The Information Technology and Human Resources Departments have updated policies, guidelines, and procedure documents to support and promote a safe user environment for BYOD. These include Acceptable Use Policies (AUP) for Faculty, Staff and Students, a Junior School specific AUP, an updated Code of Conduct, the IT Guidelines and Procedures, and the Social Media Policy. Continued work will be done to provide guidelines to cover other issues such as cellular network usage, acknowledgement and assumption of risk, insurance and personal responsibility for devices, student trading of devices, and multimedia usage in common areas. Preparing Financially With a two-year lead-in to the launch of BYOD, Havergal has been strategic in planning for the financial implications of this change in approach. Budgeting for the changes outlined above ensured the school would have the infrastructure and support in place and tested before the change was fully implemented. In addition, budget considerations for increased financial assistance have been taken into account and will be reflected in considerations for applications made for the academic year. BYOD The How 3 of 5 pages Updated: November 26, 2014

4 Preparing the School Environment Wired and Wireless Network Upgrade Throughout Both Junior and Upper School Campuses As part of the school s implementation of a VOIP telephone system in 2011, we upgraded all of our cabling and network switches to enable Gigabit connectivity over a minimum Cat5e/Cat6 cabling. In the summer of 2013, we also expanded our wireless network by approximately 50% to alleviate capacity issues with the increasing number of computing and mobile devices being brought into the school and cover the few remaining areas of weak coverage. The wireless access points were also reconfigured to take better advantage of dual radio operating frequencies. During the early part of 2015, the wireless network will be reconfigured for BYOD devices enabling access to certain functions and storage facilities of the school s server based infrastructure. Printing will become available to BYOD devices. Internet Connectivity and Bandwidth In 2012, the school increased its Internet bandwidth from 35 Megabits to 100 Megabits for a three year term. This capacity level has served the school well but we are working on an RFQ to increase this capacity at contract renewal in 2015 based on general projected growth and the move towards Internet-based resources and applications which may increase further in our BYOD scenario. Device Management and Security In order to gain access to the school s network resources, certain criteria must be met to ensure security. Network authentication for students will be enforced together with mandatory adherence to certain policies such as password and antivirus protection deployment. Power and Mobile Device Charging Facilities In conjunction with our Facilities Department, common areas of the school where students study, such as the libraries, have been upgraded with more power outlets at each workstation. In addition, we have installed three banks of 15-device, secure mobile charging lockers in the Resource Centre, B Level Atrium and the Grade 12 Grad Lounge. These charging stations are capable of charging laptops, smart phones, and tablet devices through 120v and USB outlets, but students are required to bring their own device specific charging cables. Printing and Photocopying Students now have access to the Sharp multifunction printing and copying devices by the Green and Gold Shop and in the Resource Centre. A third device will shortly be installed on the C Level to service the computing and media classrooms in that area. BYOD The How 4 of 5 pages Updated: November 26, 2014

5 Software Requirements and Compatibility The school has examined the various software programs in use across the many courses and programs we offer our students. Versions of software programs available for the major hardware and operating system providers and alternate cloud-based solutions were identified and a gaps analysis produced. The school has decided to standardize on Microsoft Office 365 for Education within the Middle School, where office productivity concepts are taught, whilst Senior School students may choose their own solutions. However, Google Apps for Education is widely used within the school. Virtual Desktop Capability and Specialized Programs The school maintains several common areas housing computers which are used by students for general research purposes and specialized course and programs that require specialized software or extraordinary computing resources. In addition, we have invested in a Microsoft Windows desktop virtualization infrastructure that will accommodate known gaps in software compatibility. This enables students to run some course software on a server based virtual Windows desktop from a number of otherwise incompatible devices. Technical Support Provided by IT The school s IT Department will fully support all students in connecting to and gaining access to the school s network and authorized network resources and connectivity to the Internet. We will always endeavour to support and diagnose issues for all our students on a best-efforts basis. This department is, however, unable to guarantee to provide technical support for personal devices due to the many potential combinations of hardware systems, operating system software, and language issues. Personal devices (charging, security, maintenance and repair) are the responsibility of individual students. Administrative Support and Rental Provisions The school has made provisions for two pools of devices to be set aside for short-term loan use (device failure, battery power rundown, forgotten devices) and longer-term loan use by students requiring some form of finance assistance. We will make every effort to ensure that there is equitable access to devices in our BYOD environment. BYOD The How 5 of 5 pages Updated: November 26, 2014