These are valid concerns. If we plan to continue with the status quo, then allowing these devices will only invite disaster. If poorly implemented, BYOD could result in a policy allowing the rich kids to play with their expensive toys, while others do without. However, in an open classroom, where students are encouraged to collaborate with one another, to seek expertise outside of the school, and to integrate their learning into their everyday lives, such an approach could thrive. Ideally, it should mean tailoring the school's technology budget towards those who really need it. Instead of three students sharing a laptop, one could be using it, while the others use their own devices. And with tablets now hitting the price of a single textbook, school-purchased devices will soon pay for themselves.

'Flip' classrooms

The "flipped classroom," which originated with the Khan Academy, is one new model that uses technology to personalize instruction. Students are instructed to listen to math lessons at home, by accessing the Khan Academy site on their computer or mobile device. This prepares them to do their homework in class, where they can get help from their teacher when they get stuck. The advantages to this model seem obvious. Students can move ahead at their own pace, only moving ahead as they master the content. The teacher then gives face-to-face feedback in real time as they practice mastering a new skill. The video content is not only engaging, but it can be paused, rewound and replayed as needed. These small chunks of video tend to be better suited to students attention spans than long lectures also. If students bring their devices to class, the teacher can show them proper use. Jim Shelton of the U.S. Education Department remarks that this new model "has tapped into the desire that everyone has to personalize the learning experience," and predicts it's "going to spread like wildfire."

Flipped classrooms are being used mostly for math, but they can be dynamite for sciences and humanities as well. Students use their mobile devices for discussion, sharing, communication, and for accessing resources. Skillful teachers, such as Wendy Drexler (cited here) can show students how to use Facebook and Twitter to build their own personal learning network. Students can connect with peers and experts through blogs, wikis and forums. Recently, a student of mine completed a novel for an English class. One option I gave him was to respond to a review of the novel that he found online. When he did so, the author of the blog not only responded to his posting, but changed her original review due to a couple of factual errors he pointed out.

In an open classroom like this one, the teacher's role changes from the expert at the front of the room to "guide at the side," who helps students make sense of the expertise they find online. This is not a demotion, but a role that requires a great deal of skill in showing students how to think critically about the topic at hand, and how to filter out information that is useful and relevant from that which isn't. These might be the most valuable skills that we can pass on to the next generation. To paraphrase Clay Shirky, there is no information overload, just filter failure.

New teaching toolbox

In an open classroom, the teacher introduces students to useful programs and applications that will help them to achieve the goals they've set for themselves. For example, a social studies teacher could show students working on a research project how to use the free app Evernote to gather notes, quotations, videos, podcasts, photos and diagrams into one place, where they can be mulled over, prioritized and organized into a project or presentation. A drama teacher might introduce students to Qikpad, so that students can collaborate on a script, writing lines back and forth in real time, while a science teacher can assign bonus marks to students who use StudyBlue to create mobile flashcards with pictures and audio that they can study while waiting for the bus. The English teacher can have students use SpiderScribe to create multimedia mindmaps that can handle documents, videos, calendars, links, images and locations. The same students can then use Storybird to collaborate upon pictured storybooks that they publish and share online.

This new, networked teacher will communicate with students, parents and colleagues using a mobile device for email, texts, instant messaging, voice mail and phone calls. Some opt to use Celly to communicate with students and parents, without either party revealing their phone numbers.

As George Abbott says in B.C.'s new Education Plan "We need to make a better link between what kids learn at school and what they experience and learn in their everyday lives." This document also discusses the need for teachers to be supported in their roles as "guides" and "coaches" so that they can put students at the "centre of a more personalized approach to learning."

It will be Abbott's call as to whether we will deal with BYOD on an ad hoc basis, or if we sit at the table with all concerned, roll up our sleeves and do it properly. That is a call that B.C.'s students are waiting for.