THE BUSINESS OF BYOD: Dangerously Irrelevant blogger, Scott McLeod poses a sharp question for educators and administrators: “Are BYOD programs simply an excuse by administrators not to fully invest in 1:1?” We had not framed the question that way and it bears discussing. So far, BYOD's looked like a low-cost route for cash-strapped admins to get their schools in the technology game. And yet, as is the case with most things in education, the issue is not quite so cut and dry. On McLeod's blog, commenter and IT Manager, Bruce G. admits that “modern computers in schools are an essential and critical part of the learning process in 2012,” but concludes that BYOD “makes no sense” under the operational constraints of a school setting. Justin B. thinks the issue requires effective leadership, calling it an “excuse to pull 1:1 off the table because of ‘we will never have the money.’” Other commentators are quick to provide their own successes and failures with BYOD/1:1 but we’re not sure anyone directly addresses the original question -- perhaps a measure of McLeod's genius. We certainly learned a thing or two!
