BYOD - Day 1: Google Apps for EDU and connecting to the network
By 9 am, almost 1500 users had connected to the network. The most connections ever in the history of our district...and it was only 9 am. As I walked the Middle School hallways with our principal, we were amazed at what we were seeing. In every class, almost every student had device and was actively engaged in connecting to the network and logging into their Google accounts. We saw devices of all kinds; Microsoft Surfaces, iPads and mini iPads, Macbooks, chromebooks, kindles and standard laptops. We saw devices that had 7 in screens all the way up to some massive 15 in laptops. In the entire building of 850 students, my guess was that over 800 brought their own device.
All wasn't so good. Our network is like a fortress...connecting to our network is like hacking the military...oh wait, bad example. Actually, our network is set up with a double layer of authentication. This was a challenge for some devices and for some students. We found out that some of the newest devices running windows 8 or 10 had the most trouble accessing the network, but kids and teachers persevered. Mr. Fried, our tech savvy principal made the rounds with me troubleshooting in several classrooms. In the end, I would estimate that a good 70% of our students successfully logged into the network today.
However, at the end of the day, I met with my IT staff and we made several adjustments. We changed the login protocol to our network by reducing the double authentication to a single password. This hopefully will simplify things for our students. We also added 2 additional access points in strategic locations in the building where we knew we had some issues. We also resolved the windows 8 and 10 issues by running a patch and and update on the wireless controller and all access points.
Our teachers persevered today. They were patient and a calming influence even when they were out of their comfort zones and their elements. Today was a good day. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Link to previous BYOD and Going Google Posts:
http://educreatechnics.blogspot.com/2015/05/going-google-part-2.html
http://educreatechnics.blogspot.com/2015/01/being-creative-with-google.html
http://educreatechnics.blogspot.com/2015/03/google-classroom-part-1.html
Follow me @brian_seligman
As the Library Media Specialist of our middle school, I had a ringside seat for the first day of BYOD. Though there were bumps in the road, it was amazing to see students learning the value of patience and determination, coming up with creative solutions to problems encountered in trying to access the network or their Google accounts and helping not only each other, but their teachers. It was a true team effort and once the growing pains are gone, the sky's the limit for what our staff and students can accomplish.
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