School system won’t rush into allowing devices

As published in the Record Journal on Sunday February 24, 2013 

By Eric Vo
Record-Journal staff
evo@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2235
Twitter:@ericvoRJ

WALLINGFORD — As other municipalities start allowing students to bring their own technology to school, School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo said Wallingford’s schools need to be prepared before starting a similar program.

In most Bring Your Own Device to School programs, students are allowed to bring in laptop computers, tablets or phones. Realizing the impact such a program could have on teachers and students, Menzo said the district is being cautious.

“We’re taking it step by step. The first step is the most important one,” Menzo said. “We don’t want to make any mistakes. If we do the program and it’s not working, we lose our credibility.”

Before the program can be started, the district has to address a number of items, said Robert Kovi, the school system’s information technology resource teacher. The district is revising its electronic devices policy, which Menzo said should be adopted by the Board of Education in March.

The district’s slow approach is intentional, Board of Education Chairwoman Roxane McKay said, “to make sure we’re presenting a policy that is appropriate and minimizes or eliminates abuse.”

In addition to revising the policy, Kovi said the technological infrastructure in the schools also had to be looked at. The wireless systems now are set up for teachers.

“If we let students bring in their devices, we just tripled our traffic,” Kovi said. “We need to make sure we can handle that.”

It’s also possible that some students may not own a device. One solution is providing a low-cost purchase or rental plan, Kovi said.

Trying to get parents to support the program is another obstacle.

“We just did an informal poll and parents were concerned about possible thefts of their devices or not being able to pay for the devices,” he said. “Parents are also asking if students are going to start bullying each other in class.”

For now, administrators will continue to be cautious.

“Some people have said, ‘The time is now and we can’t wait. We need to get students connected in the classroom,’ ” Kovi said. “I’m not sure if being the first is a good idea because there’s so many complexities.”