Primary 6 have been trialing ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) to school last term to further enhance learning experiences and opportunities.
Just some of the things we have been able to do because of BYOD to transform our learning (these wouldn’t have been able to happen without BYOD so we in P6 consider this transformational!) are…
– Personalise our ‘World News’ time by each being able to look at a variety of news websites, blogs and online resources (we could even choose news stories which linked to our own interests and didn’t have to do this as a class – there were no limits!). Some of us even took this home and continue to read news stories regularly…
– Invite more ‘support’ tools into our art lessons by using ‘line drawing’ features in Google to help us when drawing, creating, inventing ARTISTIC MASTERPIECES.
– Use technology in a much more flexible way, for instance, if we had a research point or a ‘Hmmmm, what was that…?’ moment, we could quickly look it up, saving time and ensuring our learning stayed on track. In addition to this, it feels more like real-time, real-life learning… afterall … that’s what it is like out there!
– Take the LEAD in OUR LEARNING. Some of our learning activities were open ended, such as our ‘Victorian Thinkers Keys’, which allowed us to use our devices creatively and find and explore our own tasks or answers.
– Link up to play Minecraft in large groups and, for the first time EVER, share multiple games (during Golden Time – we all LOVE THIS!).
There are so many more things we want to do with BYOD… but hey… we are just at the start of our journey. So… what do you think about BYOD?
Let’s share our thoughts…
Primary 6- It all sounds and looks very exciting- be sure to keep us posted on your trial.
I read your post with interest P6. It sounds as if bringing your own devices into school is really enhancing your learning experience. Thanks for sharing your experience. Some teachers think that when using their own devices in school pupils are more likely to be ‘off task’. Has this been a problem in your class?
Hi P6, I notice you posted that your BYOD trial has allowed your teachers to learn new things too i.e. Minecraft. How are your teachers Minecraft skills coming along?
Do you think there have been any other benefits for your teachers so far?
Ross was really engaged with this and enthusiastic when discussing what he was doing at home (particularly the Minecraft bit!). As a parent of a P6 and a teacher I am really interested in how this could be used in my own school.
There are many exciting things you can do with BYOD using a variety of free apps. For example, try using the free PollEv app for online polling during class. Ask questions about the children’s learning, ask for ideas or opinions or use it as a collaborative tool! Or how about using Adobe Voice to create awesome videos which demonstrate what’s being learned?
Lots of possibilities and lots of engaged learners (and engaged teachers)!
Look forward to hearing how you get on.
Hi Laura Compton there has not been any problems because we all singed a contract with what we wouldn’t do
At golden time there will be a expert group for minecraft teaching mrs gray how to use it .I think the teachers are quite interested in minecraft so I think they will enjoy using minecraft.
The contract said we would all be responsible and we know that this is very important
Hi mrs fairly,
We thought it was a really good success but you might have to make class rules. We did a class rule board and we all signed it but their were no faults. And today we are having a minecraft help the teacher to play at golden time.
Mr Sexton our trial is going very well and our teachers have sent out a survey to our parents and if they think it has gone well we will teach primary 7 how to use BYOD.
The contract said we would all be responsible and their is no off task workers.we hope to tell primary 7 about BYOD and the rest of the school.
Hi mrs fairly I think BYOD is very good and it has benefited us a lot in our class I think your school would really like it if they used it properly
Hi Mrs Fairly,
we have been working very well bringing in our own devices to engage more in our learning.There has been no issues during our learning and today some of the pupils will be teaching our teacher how to play mincraft!
We have had no problems because we signed a class contract to not look at silly things and not be off task.Today we are going to have a Minecraft Expert skills lesson to teach the teacher how to play Minecraft.Watch this space……
Hi Mrs Kerr I think the teachers do get a benefit because BYOD means that you get your work done much quicker because you get to work independently
No one in our class was silly or off task at all
I think it was cuz no one wanted to loose there iPad.
the code of conduct helps I think
#code #of # conduct
Hi mr sexton our trail has been amazing and we hope to keep everyone updated.
Hi Laura Compton I’m one of the pupils who are trialing (BYOD) and it has been a big success.We have signed a contract about it about things we should not do.Today we get to teach our teacher about minecraft!Just make sure the pupils are trustworthy and responsible to do this.
Wow… thank you to everyone for your contributions. We have really enjoyed reading these and replying back.
We have lots of plans for using Apps. to support our learning (our next part of our World Plan…!).
We have just sent out a questionnaire to parents asking for feedback and have worked hard with pupils to reflect on experiences and build in next steps. The children are so eager to make progress (as you can see!) that they have been setting up ‘expert groups’ and ‘tech homework’ for themselves already…!
As a teacher one of the most wonderful things to see has been how the children have been truly leading aspects of their own learning – from research to the completion of activities using different tech tools.
Well done P6 – I can’t wait for the next part of our journey… as Ross says, watch this space!
I THINK BYOD REALLY HELPED THE CLASS BECAUSE YOU GOT TO WORK INDEPENDENTLY ON A DEVICE AND IT REALLY HELPED US DO ART,TOPIC AND OTHER TASKS I DIDNT GET TO BYOD TO SCHOOL BUT I USED THE SCHOOL DEVICE [#LIFE SAVER] IT WAS A REALLY BIG SUCCSES AND NO ONE WAS OFF TASK OR BEING SILLY. BUT THAT WAS ARE TRIEL we should do it again sometime.
hi Mrs Kerr I am one of the pupils who have been Triling [BYOD] it has been so sucssful so far and we are hoping to get our teacher to play minecraft and learn more about it. we are hopeing to tell the rest of the school and get our perents to fill in a yes or no answer sheet.
bye bye
P6, this all sounds so exciting and I’m delighted that eventually you’re all in a position to explore the possibilities that BYOD will bring to your learning. I’m hoping that when my new school is able to take this forward that you will be able to advise and support our classes. I’ll continue to follow you with interest. Keep leading the way!
Hi Primary Six,
This sounds like a great project, it is wonderful to hear from you all in the comments. Good luck with getting your teacher to play minecraft!
I am particularly impressed wit the way you are answering questions in the comments. I’d be interesting in finding out what devices you are using to post to your glow blog.
In East Lothian, we have two early adopter primaries where it’s possible for learners to use their own devices on our “Connected Learning Network”; Wallyford Primary and Ormiston Primary. Maybe you’d like to get in touch and compare notes? You can contact the Ormiston “Digital Ninja” students on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ormininjas
Hiya Primary 6!
I work at Mid Calder Primary and we have started to investigate AAL and BYOD. Our Primary 7 class looked at your blog post to help get ideas as to how we might use BYOD and the benefits it will have to our learning. Today our Pupil Council and Technical Troppers brainstormed how BYOD would transform our learning and what issues we would need to overcome. We have lots of questions! Maybe we could have a Glow Meet with your class some time?
Thanks to all of you who took the time to tell me about the contract that you designed to help everyone understand what was expected of them when using their own device on the school network. Glad to see that the school has lots of devices available for anyone who doesn’t bring their own.
East Lothian has ‘Digital Ninjas’ and Mid Calder “Technical Trooper” – sounds like you need a name???? #nextchallenge
Please keep the posts coming – lots of us are following your journey.