boy with iPad
By: Erin Casola, Center Director, The Tutoring Center Naples
In the 1990s, our whole world changed with the introduction of the Internet to anyone with a phone line and a personal computer. With this technological breakthrough, schools introduced new courses in computer science, word processing and typing. We had to learn how to use the different office software and how to optimize our web searches. We watched the card catalogues at the library become computer databases. School news started coming by way of e-mails and web postings.
Since that time, technology has become an ever-present and ever-changing entity in our culture. Personal computers and the Internet opened the doors to cell phones, which became cell phones that were computers. The entire time we have been constantly adapting to the new technology, but our children always seem to know more about the latest and greatest technology, “apps” and websites.
Now, we are all part of the device movement. Personal devices have become so portable and commonplace that schools are integrating that technology into classrooms. This has some really great benefits! Soon, as parents, you will be able to log on to the approved device and see all your child’s courses right from an app. Students can communicate with their teachers on an almost instant basis. Assignments will be submitted electronically. Textbooks will be available electronically through their devices, allowing schools access to the newest editions. This introduction not only will integrate technology into classrooms, but also give parents a link to their child’s education that they haven’t had before. Collier County’s Bring Your Own Device program is a step in this direction.
At The Tutoring Center, we are doing our best to integrate devices into our sessions, as well. We encourage our students to bring their devices into the classroom. We are using this link to the classroom to teach children what it means to be a student. We are able to encourage them to communicate with their teachers and stay better organized. When all their homework is posted in an app or on their eCalendars, it makes it impossible to forget an assignment. With their books available in a click, there are no longer excuses for not having the textbook to do the homework problems or study for the test. And with so many supplemental materials available online, it enables us to expand learning outside the classroom, empowering children to reach their fullest potential.
For more information on the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program in Collier County, visit www.collierschools.com/byod. Here you will find information on approved devices, registering your student’s device with your school and making donations to this program.
For more information on The Tutoring Center, call 239-431-7110.