Bring Your Own Device Scenarios: A Deployment Guide for Education

Applies To: Windows 8.1

This guide provides information about Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) scenarios for education, including device types, BYOD deployment models, and infrastructure-related considerations for BYOD deployments.

Bring Your Own Device models are becoming increasingly popular in schools. The strategy enables students to use their own computers or other devices as part of the educational experience to perform research, complete homework, and involve themselves in classroom activities. The tightening of school budgets and the consumerization of technology make the BYOD model attractive and schools are using BYOD programs—alone or in combination with other deployment models—more than ever. The potential cost savings together with the ongoing consumerization of technology makes BYOD a viable solution. With tools such as OneDrive and Microsoft Office 365, BYOD becomes even easier.

Today’s students are digital natives, and they regularly use multiple devices. With a BYOD supplemental model, students might be assigned a laptop from the school while using their own device, as needed. But BYOD is not appropriate in all cases. Legal stipulations may prevent schools from requiring that students use their own devices—for example, determining liability in the event a device is damaged while in use in a class. In cases where such issues may exist, schools must plan to provide students with devices where necessary or use an alternative model. Also, teachers need to adapt their curricula to a BYOD deployment and must be careful to use learning tools that are functional on all devices in the classroom.

In this guide:

For information about other ways you can deploy Windows 8.1 in your school, see Plan for Windows 8.1 Deployment: A Guide for Education.

Additional resources

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