Making the Most of BYO

Last updated 3 months ago

In the current environment of dwindling budgets and increasing demand for technology in all facets of everyday life, the “bring your own device” (BYO) strategy makes sense for educational institutions. Additionally, it is clear that students desire to bring their own devices (e.g. smartphones, laptops, tablets) from home; and this can be leveraged to provide not a distraction, but a more robust educational experience.

Streamlined Access to Information
Currently, the usage of these devices has largely been restricted to writing reports on laptops or emailing a teacher using a smartphone. These limitations are not inherent to the devices, which can play a more significant role in education using cloud computing. With cloud computing educational software, students can interact with instructional software, their teachers and classmates, and files from inside the classroom and out. Wherever students or teachers can take their devices, they can interact just as if they were in a computer lab at school.

Reduced Equipment Costs
A BYO strategy can also provide some much-needed relief to strained budgets. Besides the inherent cost savings of using a cloud computing educational environment, the BYO method can also help cut costs in equipment. For each student who is able to bring in a computing device, one fewer school-owned computer has to be purchased, maintained, and upgraded. By integrating devices already owned and understood by students into the educational environment, schools may streamline both budgets and educational processes.

ClassLink offers this cloud-based educational environment in the form of LaunchPad. LaunchPad provides a cloud-based virtual desktop that allows students and teachers to access the same files, applications, and collaboration tools from any device. If students already have laptops, iPads, tablets, or other mobile devices, they have all that is required to pursue their education from anywhere. If you’d like to learn more about BYO, LaunchPad, or any of ClassLink’s other products, call us at (888) 963-7550 or visit us online.