BYOD. This is a term we hear often in the Middle Level, referring to the bring-your-own-device program started last year. While the Upper Level girls have laptops, the Middle Level, until recently, only had the laptop carts. The Middle Level girls are not required to have laptops, but the seventh and eighth graders are currently able to bring in their own iPads, laptops, Surfaces, or tablets for this program. Last year during the fourth quarter, the seventh grade was able to pilot the BYOD program, finding out which devices worked and which didn’t, while learning how to use their devices best in the classroom. This also allowed them to test how their devices worked in each class and how they could best be used in each one. Now, it has been moved into the seventh and eighth grades for the entire school year. We are able to write our papers, take notes, research, and much more on our devices during class. In addition to using them during class, we are also able to use them after school to do homework in the dining room or library. These devices are useful in nearly every class, allowing us to create graphs in science, put together Prezis in religion, and find inspirational images in art class. Being able to do these tasks without having to get laptops in all of our classes makes it so that we can do something different every day, varying our activities. Our devices give us more opportunities so that we can have a more diverse learning experience, making each class even more interesting than it already is. This program also supports our green school initiative, cutting down on the use of paper to complete classwork or other assignments. Overall, our devices have been very useful to us so far and will continue to be so.

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rahulrodriguez/9165286127/