Bring Your Own Technology

The Bring Your Own Technology program is designed to gain instructional benefit from personally owned digital teaching and learning devices on campus. Each school in the system will have the opportunity to opt in to allow students to bring and use the personal electronic devices that fit the school's educational program. In schools that elect to allow BYOT, each teacher will be allowed to determine if and when it is appropriate for student owned devices to be used.

Bring Your Own Technology is optional. No learning activity will require a digital device unless a school device is available.

Allowed Devices

Bring Your Own Technology is intended to facilitate learning. A device that helps a student learn is a potential Bring Your Own Technology device. Each school administration will set school rules for Bring Your Own Technology, and if the school allows BYOT, each teacher will decide which devices are allowed to be used, when the device can be used, and how a device can be used.

Our high schools will continue to require use of a laptop computer. Any high school student that needs or wants to use a school device will be issued a school device. Students that are able to bring their own laptop everyday are allowed to forgo the school device and bring their own. In addition, some teachers at the high school level may allow students to use smart phones to supplement their technology access. The laptop is required. All high school students will have a laptop, whether a school owned laptop or student owned. Some students in some class may be allowed to use other devices as well.

Minimum Requirements

Laptops for High School 1 to 1

Asheville High and SILSA have a 1 to 1 laptop program, meaning each student has a laptop to facilitate learning; every student every day. Students will either be issued a school laptop or bring their own laptop.

Asheville City Schools uses a cloud computing model based on Google Apps for Education and the Chrome web browser. Use of web-based resources allows the device choice to be less critical. As long as the laptop has wifi and the Chrome browser installed it should meet the needs of instruction in the classroom.

Minimum specifications for a high school student bring your own laptop are as follows:

• Screen size: greater than 11 inches on diagonal
• Physical keyboard
• Wifi (802.11n+)
• Windows 7 or newer, Mac OS 10.7 or newer, Chromebook Chrome OS, stable linux distro (but only if you can run Google Apps and Drive, see above)
• Software:
  • Web Browser: Google Chrome web browser installed, with Google Apps for Education and access to Google Drive functioning, ability to access Moodle
  • Up to date and functioning antivirus protection
  • Macromedia Flash, Java and PDF viewer are recommended
• Required accessory: Protective Case, Power Cord, Battery
• Suggested optional accessories: USB Thumb Drive, Headphones

Please note: Tablets and e-readers do not meet these requirements, therefore ipad, kindle, galaxy tablets, etc will not be able to take the place of a school issued laptop.

BYOT Responsible Use Guidelines

The Bring Your Own Technology option is solely intended to improve student learning outcomes in a safe and secure environment. The following responsible use guidelines govern use of Bring Your Own Technology devices in our schools.

Violations may result in the loss of privilege to use personal technology in school, and/or disciplinary and legal action, as appropriate.

1. The student must comply with teacher, staff and administrator directives pertaining to the device, including using the device in class, when and how to access the internet, showing the screen to the staff member, using headphones or earbuds, and turning the device off.
2. The student may not use any devices to record, transmit or post photos or video of a person without their knowledge and consent. Images, video, and audio files recorded at school may not be transmitted or posted to the public world wide web at any time, without the expressed permission of a district faculty member. Devices with cameras shall not be used in locker rooms or changing areas.
3. District and school personnel reserve the right to confiscate and/or inspect personal technology devices if there is reason to believe that it was used to violate our policies, administrative procedures, school rules, or for general misconduct.
4. The student is responsible for keeping his or her device in his or her possession or properly securing it at all times. District and school personnel are not responsible for the security or condition of student’s personal devices.
5. The student is responsible for the proper care of personal technology devices, including all maintenance and repair, replacement or modifications, and software updates necessary to effectively use the device.
6. The student will use their device in compliance with Board Policy 3225, Responsible Use of Technology and Internet Safety, the student code of conduct and all other applicable rules and guidelines.