Bring your own device (byod): engaging high school students in a photovoice project on school health promotion using their own smart devices in Nakuru north of Nakuru County, Kenya

The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative has in the recent years gained popularity globally where smart devices have become the bridge to close the digital divide in ICT integration in schools, enhanced individualized learning and expanded collaborations. Despite its proven efficacy in transforming learning and teaching, efforts to shift to BYOD is still very slow in developing countries. This is due to negative perceptions of stakeholders, among several other factors; teachers and parents do not trust that students can remain focused on education and be self-disciplined when using their smart devices in public schools in Kenya. The purpose of this study was to illuminate the readiness factors for BYOD and show how to practically use the devices by engaging students in a curriculum and school improvement project in and outside the classroom qualitative approach using Participatory action research (PAR). A purposive selected sample of 38 students used photovoice where photography was triangulated with interviews, observations collected to collect a corpus of both numerical and non-numerical data to inform the finding. After thematically coded analysis matrix and simple calculations, the findings indicated that the greatest impediment to implementation of BYOD in this region is the teacher‘s attitude towards responsible use of the devices by their learners. The parents showed adjustable positions under the guidance of the teachers. Figures point out to gender bias in supporting BYOD from family point of view. In most families women were more reconsider by the benefactor as having put more effort to source the devices. The study reaffirms the need of keeping school healthy, secure and safe for the learners. Eight areas of 9mplementation of health promotion have been described with examples which can fit any other school in the country. The photovoice which was done using students‘ own devices saw students interacting with technology on issue that hardened their critical thinking, communication and collaboration. Successful promoting of school health should address nutrition, values and life skills, gender issues, water, sanitation and hygiene, disease prevention and control; special needs, School infrastructure and environmental safety, disabilities and rehabilitatio