HOOKSETT — With the school year coming to a close, the Hooksett school district’s pilot Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program is wrapping up, as well, with mixed reviews.

After the school year is finished, there will be further analysis of the program, which allows students in second, fifth and sixth grade to register a device such as a smart phone, iPad, tablet or laptop with the school and use it during school hours for educational purposes. The program is optional.

Based on what he has heard from teachers and administrators, school board chairman Dana Argo said the program has gone exceptionally well. However, BOYD ould be modified if the board determines that alterations need to be made.

“When you have a pilot program, you do a deep dive into it when you’re done,” Argo said. “If you need to make changes, you make changes.

“The administration will be giving us some updated information on the program and we’ll decide where we’ll go from there,” Argo said.

Some school board members have voiced concern about the program.

Board member David Pearl said one of his major issues with the program is that with BYOD, students use their devices to connect to a guest network. Any device can access the network and no devices can be blocked from it. As a result, Pearl said, even if school officials determine a student should no longer have Internet privileges, they cannot be taken away.

“The only way to stop someone would be to physically confiscate the device,” Pearl said. “That does not preclude them from going home and getting another device. The device does not require registration to be on the network.”

Another aspect of the program that Pearl finds problematic is that web traffic cannot be easily tracked. Because it is not an easy task to figure out which devices are accessing what web content, it is difficult to tell if students are using the Internet for educational purposes or finding websites that may be a distraction.

“I don’t think we have the proper environment to do it and I don’t think we did a proper pilot program,” Pearl said. “You have to be ready for it and set up the situation so it has a good chance of thriving and so you can control it.”

Argo said that the ability to use devices in the classroom has not only provided students with another resource they can use to enhance their education, but has also been beneficial in teaching students skills with the devices.

“I think it’s a nice thing when students can use the technology they have at home in their school day,” he said. “It allows them to get more proficient in that device and use it as an educational tool.”