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Year 2 Dairy Flat School students Natalie Date (foreground) and Charlie Vermulen at work on the school’s computers. Dairy Flat is one local school at which bringing your own digital device remains optional.
Should schools, or parents provide digital devices for use at school – and what is an appropriate age for e-learning to begin in earnest?
These are among the questions being raised by local parents in the wake of Whangaparaoa School’s recent decision to make Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) compulsory for Year 3 students and older, starting next term.
The response from some parents echoes the furore that erupted when Orewa College introduced e-learning from Year 9 up, in 2011, and made bringing your own i-Pads compulsory.
Whangaparaoa School is promoting the HP Chromebook, a laptop that the school says is robust, has a keyboard and a set of apps that make it educational rather than a play tool. The school negotiated a special price pf $307, with insurance and accessories extra. Other devices are also supported at the school, particularly for more senior students.
Principal Kevin Cronin, who also oversaw the introduction of compulsory Chromebooks at Year 3 at Huapai District School, says the Whangaparaoa School board made the decision following a parent survey that indicated the importance of keeping up with technology.
He says the strength of feeling about the issue has been somewhat surprising but that he is talking to parents and understands their concerns. He emphasises that reading books, handwriting and maths are not going to change and that the Chromebook is just a tool to support both teacher and student.
“It opens up the world, and the kids love it,” he says. “It is a powerful tool, whether the child is an independent learner at the top of the scale or one who needs more support. We keep control of the sites, apps and documents students are using and monitor that. How often the devices are used will depend on the type of class, and whether it’s the best thing to enable learning. Are we going to use it all day? I can’t see that happening.”
Parents such as Angela Gallagher are happy with the BYOD policy, although she says paying for the Chromebook will be a stretch and require saving up. “The school must move with the times, and technology is the future,” Angela says. “Kids are on devices at home and teaching them to look after them and limiting screen time is up to parents.”
Fiona Chamberlain, who has two children at Whangaparaoa School, (Years 1 and 3) says she is worried that the school has not been able to say how much screen time the children will be having and what happens if inappropriate content is seen. She considers Year 3 too young for significant e-learning. “I’m not against technology – at home we have a computer, iPad and mobile phones,” she says. “But I want my kids to enjoy being kids just a bit longer. Children are still developing and there’s not enough research about what happens to their brains, and behaviour when they use computers. They are still learning to read, write and spell at that age and need those basics first.”
She is also concerned about families who cannot afford the cost of the Chromebook on top of all the other school-related expenses.
There is a wide range of policies around digital devices at local primary schools, but it appears that most make BYOD voluntary, or only compulsory for older students (Year 7 and 8). Silverdale and Stanmore Bay Schools supply devices, including Chromebooks, and have no BYOD.
Dairy Flat School principal Debbie Marshall says when BYOD was discussed with the school community a few years ago, the majority wanted it to be voluntary – and this remains her school’s policy.
“Parents were concerned about the cost, and felt it was part of the school’s natural operation to provide those devices if they were to be used as learning tools, Debbie says.
She says buying, leasing and upgrading devices costs the school around $20,000 per year – “that’s why some schools prefer BYOD,” she says.
However, cost aside, Kevin Cronin says it’s all about connecting with kids to help them learn. “If you have a tool that really helps children learn, why wouldn’t you use it? I think the possibilities are really exciting. I understand the apprehension, but we will be working with our staff and the kids to let everyone know that it’s a tool to support learning positively.”
