1-to-1 and BYOD on a Budget

We're talking 1-to-1 and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)and some schools are onboard but some say - nice idea, we can't afford it.

Here are a few ideas to help with this:

1. Do you already have computers? Were you planning to replace them? Why not take the replacement money and little-by-little start purchasing digital devices that move around with your students?

1. How about mobile phones? These can be amazing 1-to-1 vehicles. If your students have them - if your community has them - consider repurposing these ubiquitous devices into classroom-to-home learning tools. A great book by one of our bloggers here is "Generation Text: Using Cell Phones to Enhance Learning."

1. Start small. Pick one classroom or subject and see if you can fund a cart of computers through grants, community involvement, parent participation or other sources. Learn from what happens and see if you can grow this over time.

1. Use Donors Choose http://www.donorschoose.org/ or Kickstarter http://www.kickstarter.com/ and write a proposal and then send it out via Twitter, Blogs and right here at the Microsoft Partners-in-Learning Network.

1. Look for corporate sponsors. Microsoft sponsors and mentors schools as do other company.

Be ready with your story and your plan if you will be going the outside funding route. What will your students be able to do if they have digital devices? What will they bring to your local and national community - and what can they offer the global community?

It may take work and won't be at the scale you'd like right away, but once your students have even a few digital devices, the possibilities will grow exponentially!

Would love to hear your ideas as well.

• Pamela