Written by
Beth Farrah, SMT Writer
Essex, Missouri - Today was the first official school day of the 2013-2014 school year for the Richland Rebels. Aside from the freshly waxed floors, newly painted bathrooms, a brand new security and alarm system, and a handful of new teachers and students, there are many other changes that are happening behind the doors of Richland High School and Junior High.
The high school faculty recently adopted a new program to the school called Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). The idea of the program is to get kids adapted to the fast pace world that they live in. The world the teenagers live in is already fast paced but it is only getting faster. Their lives revolve around Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media websites and apps. Even more so, texting and emailing also eat up a lot of their time.
But teenagers are not the only ones who let the media and technology take over parts of their lives. The business world is consumed with emails, video calls, and other quick and easy ways of communication. Adults are now adapting to the world that involves iPads, Tablets, and laptops.
The Richland faculty recently did some research by visiting other high schools in both Mississippi and Indiana who accepted the Bring Your Own Device Program. The program has been researched by high schools, colleges, and is starting to grow in junior high schools.
The program is really simple: it is teaching students how to use technology. Of course, most teenagers already know, so it makes the process easier. The students are able to use their cell phones, iPads, Tablets, laptops, computers, and whatever else they might have at home at school. There are many restrictions to the devices, since the program is to be used in a positive and educational way.
The high school now has a guest wifi system so that the students are able to log on to the school wifi and use it for their very own educational purpose. Tests, quizzes, and class alerts can be distributed to the students through the cell phone they hold in their hands. Teachers use the BYOD for projects, papers, and homework assignments.
Since it is faster and easier to type rather than to hand write things, seniors and other students who are enrolled in college classes take through Three Rivers Community College are able to use their iPads and laptops to take notes, start writing papers in class, and take tests or quizzes.
The junior high students are quickly adapting to the new teaching style. They are able to play learning games on the iPads that the school provides for them and they will soon be able to bring their own. Using the BYOD program makes projects simpler and easier since everything is connected through emails that the students and teachers both have. Google Drives and Google Docs makes Richland a giant web, where students can exchange homework assignments with their teachers, take quizzes at home, and work on projects both at home and at school.
Since the BYOD Program was such a great hit and the students are now able to use their phone, the cell phone policy has been adjusted. Each classroom has their own set of individual rules made by the teachers on the cell phone and electronics policy, but students are now able to use iPods and phones in between classes and during their lunch hour.
The step into the technological age has finally been taken by the Rebels and they are looking forward to a great year with a great new program that is spreading quickly across schools all over America.
