Are we ready for BYOD?: An analysis of the implementation and communication of BYOD programs in Victorian schools

Many Victorian secondary schools appear to be implementing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs as the Australian Federal government s Digital Education Revolution funding has come to an end for 1-to-1 Learning programs. One of the key elements identified as important for the success of these programs is the clear communication of policies and protocols with the school community; something that may not be occurring on school websites. This paper explores the extent of 1-to-1 Learning and BYOD model implementation in Victorian secondary schools and identifies the type of information provided to parents and the school community via school websites. The results show that 78.7 (n=88) of the sampled schools have 1-to-1 Learning programs; 64.4 (n=72) BYOD. Information about 1-to-1 Learning programs on school websites was found to be limited or lacking for the majority of schools. The implications of these results are discussed in light of concerns for the successful, safe and equitable implementation of BYOD in educational settings.