[elearning] BYO device?

[Cameron Bell]

I know it's holidays, (even though I am doing reports - still) but the list has been too quiet lately. Is everyone too busy on FB or Twitter? Are the lists in the Autumn of their years? Are there only a few of us dinosaurs still using them?

Just read this article and thought although it is about the Blackberry, the underlying reasons will also apply to schools not too far down the track.

http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/blackberry-becoming-obsolete-20110705-1h07z.html

Employees have been pressuring companies to allow them to use their iPhones and their Androids and their other smartphones for business, instead of a company-issued BlackBerry.

Indeed, BlackBerry's slump is signaling another trend: "the demise of the corporate IT crowd," said Rodger Morrow, a Sewickley, Philadelphia-based speechwriter and communications consultant. "Corporations are now trying to get out of the hardware business," he said.

I can see the attraction to Gov Ed departments of being able to offload the cost of ICT infrastructure to the students/parents.
Consumer devices like iPads/tablets and iPhones/Android are now the driving force in ICT, not computers and laptops.

Pretty soon we will be saying to students "And you need an internet capable device that can do A,B,C."

BYO device is moving closer. Which is a good thing IMHO - it will stop schools trying to pander to the latest cool device and force them to go back to examining the curriculum in a device-independant way. No more "showcase" schools giving free publicity to <insert company name> and acting as de-facto sales departments by insisting on one particular brand, rather than giving the students choice. 
I think it is ironic that teachers that railed against the dominance of Microsoft in schools are now insisting on iPads rather than "a tablet".

In a few years, I can see myself teaching a concept and rather than showing them how to use an app, or devising the activity with a particular app in mind, I'll be showing the students the criteria an app will need to satisfy to help them in a particular subject and letting them choose.

Wondering what others are thinking.

Cheers
Cameron

PS: Here is the Twitter version if can't handle more than 140 characters before you lose concentration:

 http://bit.ly/m14IhS - Should/can students BYO smart device 2 save govt $, & give them choice? Y do schools still insist on 1 brand?
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