Free Technology for Schools

For cash strapped schools, a bring your own device (BYOD) policy if implemented correctly can greatly improve ICT provision and coverage with a minimal budget outlay. In some ways, it is a better preparation for the real world that students will inhabit. Although some swanky cafes suggest otherwise, we do not inhabit a world where everyone has a shiny new ipad. It is a good idea for schools to provide a mixed ecosystem that is more like what students will experience outside of school. Learning to share information across a range of devices is a necessary skill.
There are many issues with implementing a BYOD policy such as security and web filtering. In a discussion in my own school a colleague asked if adopting such a policy would be opening a pandora's box. My response was that students live in a world with pandora's box already open and school is the only place they come to where it is shut. I took his point however. The box probably does have to be shut.
I stumbled across this excellent video on Youtube. It is a little long but covers a lot of ground on how to effectively and securely implement BYOD.

Enjoy!