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By Elisabeth Hulette The Virginian-Pilot May 23, 2012 CORRECTION: A previous headline on this story incorrectly statedthat the decision to add the gadgets had been approved. In fact,the School Board has taken no action. VIRGINIA BEACH Teachers used to see toys when they looked at iPads, Kindles andcellphones. Now, many see educational tools. And as their perspective changes, so too are the rules that spellout which electronic gizmos students can bring to school. Virginia Beach is joining several other school divisions around thestate and locally that have relaxed their policies on allowingstudents to bring their own tablets, cellphones and other devicesto the classroom. The Bring Your Own Device program is expected tostart in the fall. The School Board took no action Tuesday, but isexpected to vote June 5 on a policy change that school officialssay will help enable the program to continue moving forward. "This is great," said Ashley McLeod, a Virginia BeachSchool Board member who listened to a presentation on the programTuesday night. Others were less enthusiastic. Several worried that cyberbullyingand cheating, among other things, might rise if students are givenmore access to technology during the school day. "There are going to be bumps along the way," said BillBrunke, vice chairman of the board. "This is going to bepainful. And we're going to receive emails, all of us, about somevery difficult situations." Virginia Beach is modeling the program on similar efforts that havebeen successful in York and Fairfax counties, said Joe Burnsworth,the division's assistant superintendent for curriculum andinstruction. In Chesapeake, officials recently reported good results with theirprogram, which allows students to use e-readers, as well as iPads.At last count, nearly 800 students had submitted forms givingparental permission for them to use their devices, they said. In a presentation to the Chesapeake School Board in March,officials noted minor problems. A few students used their e-readersto play games and listen to music, and a device owned by anelementary student was stolen but later recovered. Burnsworth said Virginia Beach's efforts to allow the program arepart of a growing acknowledgement that students are digital nativeswho sometimes learn best with a digital device in hand. But officials don't expect Virginia Beach's program to open thefloodgates. Principals and teachers will develop their own policiesthat will likely differ among schools, and even among classeswithin schools. Students and parents will be briefed on thosedecisions this fall. There will be other rules, too. Use of the devices will berestricted to educational purposes, and students will be requiredto use their schools' wireless networks instead of 3G or 4Gconnections. The networks restrict which websites students canvisit. Those guidelines and others will help get schools on the same page,Burnsworth said. For example, some Virginia Beach schools alreadyallow students to use tablets in classrooms because there's nopolicy that specifically prohibits them. E-readers such as Kindlesand Nooks have been permitted since January, he said. The problem, Burnsworth said, is that technology has evolved fasterthan the division's policies, blurring the lines between cellphonesthat have email, tablets that make phone calls, and so on. Thisprogram will put them all under one roof, Burnsworth said. School Board Chairman Dan Edwards said it's time to act. He wasparticularly excited to hear that elementary school principals wantthe change. "Change is a challenge. And change is not going to beeasy," he said. "But it is the right thing to do forkids." Pilot writer Hattie Brown Garrow contributed to this report. Elisabeth Hulette, 757-222-5097, elisabeth.hulette@pilotonline.com. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as DVR with HDMI Output , Waterproof Digital Camcorder HD, and more. For more , please visit DVR with HDMI Output today!
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