PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BYOD CONCEPT IN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

The emerging range of personal mobile devices, due to their advanced technical characteristics, has made it possible to widely use them at enterprises, offices or educational institutions almost in any place. This has led to the introduction of a new concept of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), when a personal device (phone, tablet) is used for work or study. One of the serious problems encountered by teachers on the way of implementing BYOD into the educational process is the insufficient level of information competence and the lack of educational manuals for such classes. The aim of the research is to investigate the relevance of implementing BYOD approach in teaching Computer Engineering students and to consider the possibilities of using mobile devices for didactic purposes directly in the classroom and in distance learning. Within BYOD, the use of learning support mobile systems in the learning process gives its participants access to training materials, services and models adapted for the use in a mobile environment. The teachers effectively manage the learning process, in particular, focus the students’ attention on the sources of information that give the most correct and complete answers within the relevant disciplines. The research presents learning outcomes of two groups: control, with the traditional method of teaching and the equipment provided by the educational institution, and experimental, when students use their own mobile devices (tablets and smartphones) in the educational process, which gives a possibility to learn in any place convenient for a student and remotely send progress reports. The results showed that the students of the experimental group outperformed their groupmates from the control group in academic progress. The implementation of BYOD elements has led to the increase in students’ motivation and interest in their own learning. The main positive aspects of using BYOD technology in the learning process have been identified, such as convenience and flexibility, reducing the expenses of educational institutions, simplifying work with the network services, interactivity of learning, and applying multimedia format in the presentation of educational material during lectures, laboratory and practical classes, effectiveness of work with information and the presentation of results.