by Brandon Borges ‘15
Saint Ignatius High School will require that all students bring a non-cellular device to school beginning in the 2014-15 school year, a drastic change to the school’s Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) program. All incoming freshmen and current students from the junior level down will have to acquire a device with screen dimensions of at least nine-and-a-half inches in length.
The technology requirement has been discussed extensively by the school administration and reflects a new consensus about the ways that internet connectivity can improve learning. Mr. Jarc, the school’s Education Technology specialist, said that the new requirement will dramatically expand the possibilities available to teachers.
“Teachers are able to use the internet and other tools [such as] laptops, iPads, and chromebooks [that students will] bring to make advances in the way students do presentations, collab projects, and other projects,” Mr. Jarc explained.
While the school has provided laptops in limited numbers in the past, the new BYOT policy will mean that teachers can now rely on students to have a means of instantly researching factual questions that come up in class, working on essays, watching videos, or otherwise participating in interactive digital learning experiences.
The changes in the BYOT program are also due to coming alterations to state testing policy.
“The OGTs soon will be taken online,” Mr. Jarc said, “and with the new BYOT policies in place, the school wouldn’t have to provide the large amount of devices needed for students to take the OGT.”
“One limit to the required devices is the screen of the device has to be nine-and-a-half inches or larger,” Mr. Jarc said, explaining that OGT-specific standards are the basis for the size requirement.
The size limit exclude cellular devices in addition to most small tablets, such as the Barnes & Noble Nook. However, size is the only serious restriction on the devices students will be able to use.
“Students can use a device that they are comfortable with,” Mr. Jarc said. “A student may not like how an iPad feels, but this system will make him more comfortable and bring out his strengths.”
Mr. Jarc said that he is realistic about the wide range of possible responses that the school’s faculty could have to the universal technology requirement.
“I think there will be a mixture of views,” Mr. Jarc said. “While some teachers will enjoy the students having technology on hand, some would react in the manner of ‘Keep those things out of my classroom.’”
Mr. Jarc accepts that the faculty will have differing views about the new technology, and says that that is where he will play an important role.
“My job is to bring the teachers to the program,” he said. Mr. Jarc wants to help teachers accept the new BYOT policy, which will in turn facilitate student adoption of the program.
Jarc stresses that the administration is taking care not to make excessive financial demands by mandating that families splurge on the most expensive possible technology.
“A benefactor has generously donated a large number of new chromebooks, and will continue to do so for a few years. That gift will support some students. Other students will be able to use devices purchased by the school,” Jarc said. “The guidelines for offering devices to families will be in line with needs-based financial aid.”
“We will make it work for all of our students. One way or another, all students will be able to participate in the BYOT program,” he said. “Any student that cannot afford a device will be provided with one by the school.”
The BYOT changes represent a significant shift in the way that Saint Ignatius approaches technology and online education. The device mandate will affect every student, every teacher and every classroom. In 2014-15, Saint Ignatius takes another step into the digital future.
