Making the Case for BYOD Instruction in Teacher Education

Abstract

This paper reports on findings of a bring-your-own device (BYOD) study conducted in a teacher education course. Data was examined for interactions among a community of learners for evidence of preparedness, proficiency, and innovation with smart phones. Findings indicate that preservice candidates (n=58) know how to use their smart phones for personal use, which can influence innovation when designing classroom activities using these devices. Adaptation of smart phones for classroom instruction was met with positive reactions. Only three of the fifty-eight participants (< 5%) did not own a smart phone. With the growing number of BYOD initiatives in K-12 settings, instructional technology teacher educators may need to include a BYOD module to assure that the candidates they are sending into the classrooms of tomorrow are prepared with requisite technology integration knowledge to meet the curricular needs and learning preferences of K-12 students.