oa Key Challenges Associated with Bringing Personal Mobile Devices to the Higher Education Classroom

The use of students’ personal mobile devices in education seems an attractive option to higher education institutions as these devices may help reduce costs as well as support teaching and learning. However, the concept of “bring your own device” or BYOD, presents challenges to institutions used to control which technology students and faculty would adopt in teaching and learning practices. This paper aims to review key challenges associated with the BYOD initiative often discussed in the relevant literature. These challenges include network infrastructure, network security, IT support, equity issues, and BYOD disruptions. The paper also reviews a case study recently conducted at a higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates to illustrate in practice how these key challenges may affect the adoption of personal mobile devices in the classroom. Based on the review, this paper proposes potential strategies to help minimize these challenges