Students who don't own or can't afford a laptop, iPad or other digital devices could be disadvantaged at school, some teachers say, as the federally funded free laptop program comes to a close.
The NSW Department of Education and Communities will soon formally encourage schools to implement a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, allowing students to use their own devices, like laptops, tablets, smartphones or e-readers, in the classroom.
It will be up to individual schools to decide if and how they implement the policy, which is being finalised. It will not be compulsory for students to own a device and it will be the responsibility of school principals to ensure students have equitable access to technology.
The principal of Dapto High School, Andrew FitzSimons, said ensuring equitable access to technology would be a great challenge, as a significant proportion of students would not be able to afford their own device.
''If there's any element of 'buy' in BYOD, we'll have a problem,'' he said. ''For a school like Dapto, the laptops have been just magnificent. It's been transformational to our daily work.''
The NSW Teachers Federation said the new policy would cause ''huge problems'' for schools in poorer areas.
''Most families have more than one child in school. Are they really expecting every child in a family is going to have a personal laptop and that the parents are going to be able to pay for a number of them?'' the president, Maurie Mulheron, said.
Former teacher and education consultant Dan Haesler, who has been working with a number of Sydney schools to trial the approach, said the policy was ''a bit of a cop-out'' if schools were not given additional funding and support to implement it fairly.
''It's not just about up-skilling staff to use the technology itself but how to use it to enhance teaching and learning,'' he said.
A Department of Education and Communities spokesman said principals would have greater power to allocate their budget under the Local Schools, Local Decisions reforms but did not commit to any additional funding.
A spokeswoman for federal Education Minister Bill Shorten said schools would receive extra funding through the Better Schools Plan.
Harrington Street Public School in Cabramatta West is using the BYOD policy this term, after trialling it with a few classes last term.
Assistant principal Dean Finch said 80 to 90 per cent of students brought devices and the rest could ''buddy up'' with someone in the class or borrow from the school's back-up supply. Mr Finch, who helped develop the policy, said concerns were not insurmountable.
