BYOD Survey Results

Thank you to the 139 parents who took part in the survey and to the 13 students who participated despite their exams. The sample of students is too low to draw any conclusions, but we will give the figures for information purposes (in green in the text).

A significant fact is the high rate of non-response or “don’t know” 13.5%; it highlights for parents the difficulty of knowing their teenager’s practices, at school or at home. This was pointed out by some parents who would like to be more informed about BYOD.

Another observation is the great disparity between the sections: the English section has the highest satisfaction rate while the French-speaking and Italian sections show the greatest difficulty in integrating and/or accepting BYOD.

 

Below is a summary of the survey results

For 46%, BYOD has made a significant change (61,5) :

NL : 44,4% FR : 26,4% DE : 44,4% EN : 63,6 IT : 21%

And helped their child to develop useful skills for the future (61,5) :

NL : 66,33 % FR : 66,1% DE : 77,7% EN : 81,7 % IT : 31,5%

But 43.6% think they have not received adequate training (46%) (compared to 33% satisfied) :

NL : 44% FR : 23,9% DE : 33% EN : 48% IT : 37%

The different school tools are quite well known: 78,8 % (92%)

NL : 55% FR : 61% DE : 55% EN : 81% IT : 73%

And useful 66,1% (84,5%).

 

28% of students need glasses when using the computer.

46% of parents think that students are looking at websites other than the one intended for the class they were in but 77,9% of students admit doing it.

38% of parents think that if a collegue looks at a website, it is distracting for their child, but 53 ,8% of students report they are distracted by your neighbors’ screens.

55.6% of parents think their child spends between 2 and 6 hours a day on screen (30,7%) ; 44,4%  between 6 to 10 hours  and more (69%)

69% of students say they have an app to calculate their time compared to 18% for parents, but we recall that the number of answers among students is too low to draw conclusions.

Unanimity for the screen time considered too high for parents and children.

Parents find that the use of BYOD at school has a high effect on home use 70.4% (51,4%). The latter is positive for 16% (38%), moderate for 34.5% and negative for 34.4%.

Overall BYOD is perceived as positive by 41% of parents (61%), with again large disparities between sections :

NL : 55% DE : 44,4% EN : 60% FR : 40% IT : 10,5%

 

Comments

  • The positive aspects

BYOD is a good tool for homework, knowing students’ grades and having contact with teachers.
It allows some students to improve their autonomy, to use computers wisely and to prepare them for the requirements of higher education.

  • The negative aspects

But most of the comments reflect concerns and difficulties for parents in managing their child’s screen time: too much screen time at home under the pretext of work, difficulty for some students in dealing with the multiple sources of distractions it creates, and the tendency to addiction that is very difficult to counter, not to mention the atmosphere that is deteriorating at home.
Other parents highlight studies that raise problems related to the intensive use of screens: health, reduced social interactions, addiction.
While some parents are asking for BYOD to be withdrawn, the majority sees it as a tool to be improved and used in a measured way.

  • Proposals to improve BYOD

A – General comments:

– Better training of teachers and students to make the most of the advantages of digital technology
– To limit to certain tasks in order to reduce time and maintain “natural” tools: memory, 5 senses, intelligence, manual writing, paper reading (especially since for the Bac, the tests are written manually)
– Harmonize the tools and harmonize the use made by teachers (great disparities still exist)

B – Practical proposals:

– Implement applications to block games and social networks
– That teachers can see the students’ screens (application or position of the tables)
– That there is a reference person at the school
– That teachers give homework in class and not on Office only, in the evening or on the weekend. Some parents want free weekends.
– That the school buys for all to lower prices and facilitate use and updates..

 

The few comments received from students are similar to those from parents.

A student summarizes BYOD’s dysfunction when it is misused: “There is no point in going to class anymore because everything is on oneNote. The teacher notes at the same time as we do, so we can do something else without missing anything from the course.” This comment largely echoes the concerns of some parents. 

 

Conclusion

The APEEE is in contact with the school regarding this subject and provides the results of the survey.

In addition, the Central Office is working on tools for a good implementation of BYOD.

To be followed for the APEEE.

Find here all results: