BYOB: Bring Your Own Browser
Course to accompany work on the BYOB (Bring Your Own Browser) concept which saw an immense takeup of student device usage for effective learning

Bring Your Own Browser was a project I ran from October 2013 to June 2014 to support the use of students' own devices for learning. Through the 'wi-fi' cloud at the school students were able to join using their network credentials and get access anywhere.

With potential staff concerns about students accessing the internet Year 9 students put together their own collection of suggestions how browsers and devices could be used to support effective learning. The message was very clear - they should only be used if they could enhance learning. Each of the suggestions below - and as explained in the video - was designed to achieve exactly that.

The real success of the project was student leadership. Students were asked to persuade the senior leadership of the school about the merits of the concept. They they wrote a letter to all parents explaining about the benefits and put together the video to showcase what was happening.

The 10 suggested ideas were:

#10: Internet research to support learning
#9: Calendar / Reminder tools – organising tasks, deadlines & notes
#8: Photos – recording proof of progress, evidence of work, tasks & homework
#7: Filming – record tutorials, ‘how-tos’ – both teachers and students
#6: E-mail – use Academy gmail account – ideal to share ideas and keep in contact
#5: Google Drive – collaborative documents, sharing and developing on any device
#4: Google Maps – use in a variety of subjects to help identify real locations
#3: PollEverywhere – on demand polls, question & response
#2: Socrative – survey tool with quick questions or longer surveys – ideal to gather opinions
#1: GetKahoot.com – funky quiz tool that grabs student attention using a device as a handset