BYOD: Bring your own device piloted at P.E.I. high school 

Students at Kinkora Regional High School in Prince Edward Island have been taking part in a pilot program to BYOD, or bring your own device, to school. It allows students to bring cellphones, tablets or laptops to access the school's Wi-Fi for educational use.

The program has been running for about a year and is so successful that it is starting to roll out in some other schools and could eventually go Island-wide.

"The goal is really just to give students more accessibility to online educational resources," said Ryan McAleer, the principal at Kinkora Regional High School, speaking with Mainstreet P.E.I.'s Angela Walker. 

"It allows them to use their own devices, which they're very familiar with, to be able to have a broader and richer educational experience."

Students are not required to use their own devices, McAleer said. Schools have school-issued laptop and desktop computers available for any student who needs one. 

"The biggest thing that we're seeing is that allowing students to access teachers' websites, whether it's a Google site or Google classroom, it helps students with their organization, to use calendars and planners, to do online research is a big one," McAleer said. 

Students with diagnosed learning disabilities who need to use technology for assistance, such as speech-to-text programs find it easier on their own devices, he said.

'Almost every student has one'

Youth are familiar with using their phones to communicate, he points out.

"Cellphones are so ubiquitous, almost every student has one in their pocket," he said. "If we can use that as a tool to help students learn better ... then it's a device that we should be using." 

There was concern devices could be a distraction, but McAleer said there has been more positive than negative. He said it's up to an individual teacher's discretion how much and how students use their devices. 

Some schools elsewhere in Canada have banned cellphones in schools.

The school has installed a firewall that denies access to non-educational sites such as Snapchat, TikTok or Netflix. 

"With the shadow of COVID-19 always over us, if we had to move to remote learning ... having students already using their own devices really better positions them to be able to better continue their education at home," he said.   

Now that it has been tested, the program is rolling out at Westisle Composite High School in Elmsdale and in grades 7 to 12 in the French Language School Board.

"I'm hopeful that other schools will see the benefits that we've experienced," McAleer said. 

More from CBC P.E.I.