How much will a BYOD cost?
The purchase of a device is a major decision and a significant expense. A good quality device may last from Year 7 to Year 12 and viewed over six years, the overall expense is reasonable. Mackellar Girls Campus has integrated device use into many aspects of teaching and learning. Your investment allows the school to maximise learning outcomes for all students.
Suitable laptops will range in price from approximately $450. A smartphone or iPad Mini does not meet the required specifications. As there are high costs involved in moving from primary to high school, we have a limited number of loan devices available for Year 7.
What is the process of obtaining a loan device?
If you are in need of a loan device, see Ms Wyllie in the IT support office (next to library borrowing desk). A form needs to be filled out and signed by the parent/caregiver. A bond of $100 is required and will be returned once the laptop has been returned in good condition. Reasons for borrowing a loan device include financial hardship, laptop at the repair shop for long durations or for any reason we deem appropriate. Our loan device may be either the Dell Latitude 3190 11 inch or HP Probook 11 EE x360 G5.
What if I am unable to provide a device for my daughter?
We are committed to our obligations as a public education institution to deliver the same learning outcomes to all our students no matter their families' financial means. We have developed an Equity Statement as part of our BYOD Policy, which outlines strategies the school may take in consultation with you, to augment access to information and communication technologies. Please contact the school if you wish to discuss options.
Do I need to back up my work?
Yes - It is the student's responsibility to backup their work on a regular basis to external or cloud based storage. Failure to back up may result in work being lost. The school does not backup BYOD devices.
I'm concerned about device security
Experience from the previous Commonwealth-funded Digital Education Revolution scheme indicates that students who took good care of their device and considered themselves the device's owner rarely had device security issues. Under the BYOD Policy, the school does not own the device, support the device, n’or warranty the device. If you are concerned the device could be lost, stolen or break, you may wish to consider specific accidental loss and breakage insurance. You may also consider using a device locator service. These services include the "Find my iPad" service built into Apple iOS devices, "Prey" for Windows or "LoJack for Laptops". Internet access on the device will be filtered at school and students will not be permitted to connect to other networks whilst at school.
Do I need to buy antivirus software?
You must have antivirus protection, but free antivirus software is available for Windows and Apple devices, e.g. Microsoft Security Essentials.
Why can’t I use a laptop which is 5 years old?
It is unlikely that a device more than five years old will be able to connect to the school’s wireless network. Check if your old device has dual 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi capability.
Do Apple products connect to the DEC wireless network?
Yes they do, as long as the student has a DoE username and password.
What software will I have to buy?
The DoE is investing a huge amount of money and resources to provide students with free software that meets their school learning needs. All DoE students with a login are able to access free software packages via the link on the school website or via the DoE portal.
www.nbscmgirls-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/student-staff-links
The available free software includes products from Microsoft and Adobe as well as applications suitable for Apple devices.
How big does my device have to be?
The minimum sized device that is acceptable is the size of an iPad. An iPhone or iPad Mini is not acceptable. However, since the device will be used for a variety of applications, we do recommend that it has a keyboard (can be external) and a USB port. A laptop is highly recommended over an iPad.
My interest is in how the device will be used at school.
Mackellar Girls Campus has established a learning environment that strongly supports Google Classroom. Google Classroom is used by teachers in various ways as a place to store resources for students to access, for students to submit work, and as a means of differentiating the curriculum. There are also increasing online apps that students need to access. If you were to visit any classroom any day you would find students using their BYO devices for notes, for research, to use Language or Maths online programs or to follow instructions from Google Classroom. Most courses are totally based on using Google Classroom as the organisational tool through which students learn.
While not every teacher at Mackellar Girls uses ICT every lesson, it is an essential part of every course and is reported on through student assessment. As well, the wireless network in school means students in every classroom can be on a device simultaneously. No school has enough computer labs to achieve what is required in this area.
Why is Mackellar Girls doing this?
University and TAFE learning is now so reliant on digital learning and many schools have been using laptops through years 7-12 for a while, and therefore, we are not prepared to disadvantage our students in their learning by not moving forward with BYOD. A vast number of public schools across the state are now BYOD schools.
How can my daughter print from her device at school?
The student can email the work to themselves or save their work to the cloud. Then they can go to a desktop device, open their work, and print in the usual way. Alternatively, they may save their work onto a USB and print from any school desktop computer. As Web Print is now available, students also have the option of printing from their BYO devices
The purchase of a device is a major decision and a significant expense. A good quality device may last from Year 7 to Year 12 and viewed over six years, the overall expense is reasonable. Mackellar Girls Campus has integrated device use into many aspects of teaching and learning. Your investment allows the school to maximise learning outcomes for all students.
Suitable laptops will range in price from approximately $450. A smartphone or iPad Mini does not meet the required specifications. As there are high costs involved in moving from primary to high school, we have a limited number of loan devices available for Year 7.
What is the process of obtaining a loan device?
If you are in need of a loan device, see Ms Wyllie in the IT support office (next to library borrowing desk). A form needs to be filled out and signed by the parent/caregiver. A bond of $100 is required and will be returned once the laptop has been returned in good condition. Reasons for borrowing a loan device include financial hardship, laptop at the repair shop for long durations or for any reason we deem appropriate. Our loan device may be either the Dell Latitude 3190 11 inch or HP Probook 11 EE x360 G5.
What if I am unable to provide a device for my daughter?
We are committed to our obligations as a public education institution to deliver the same learning outcomes to all our students no matter their families' financial means. We have developed an Equity Statement as part of our BYOD Policy, which outlines strategies the school may take in consultation with you, to augment access to information and communication technologies. Please contact the school if you wish to discuss options.
Do I need to back up my work?
Yes - It is the student's responsibility to backup their work on a regular basis to external or cloud based storage. Failure to back up may result in work being lost. The school does not backup BYOD devices.
I'm concerned about device security
Experience from the previous Commonwealth-funded Digital Education Revolution scheme indicates that students who took good care of their device and considered themselves the device's owner rarely had device security issues. Under the BYOD Policy, the school does not own the device, support the device, n’or warranty the device. If you are concerned the device could be lost, stolen or break, you may wish to consider specific accidental loss and breakage insurance. You may also consider using a device locator service. These services include the "Find my iPad" service built into Apple iOS devices, "Prey" for Windows or "LoJack for Laptops". Internet access on the device will be filtered at school and students will not be permitted to connect to other networks whilst at school.
Do I need to buy antivirus software?
You must have antivirus protection, but free antivirus software is available for Windows and Apple devices, e.g. Microsoft Security Essentials.
Why can’t I use a laptop which is 5 years old?
It is unlikely that a device more than five years old will be able to connect to the school’s wireless network. Check if your old device has dual 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi capability.
Do Apple products connect to the DEC wireless network?
Yes they do, as long as the student has a DoE username and password.
What software will I have to buy?
The DoE is investing a huge amount of money and resources to provide students with free software that meets their school learning needs. All DoE students with a login are able to access free software packages via the link on the school website or via the DoE portal.
www.nbscmgirls-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/student-staff-links
The available free software includes products from Microsoft and Adobe as well as applications suitable for Apple devices.
How big does my device have to be?
The minimum sized device that is acceptable is the size of an iPad. An iPhone or iPad Mini is not acceptable. However, since the device will be used for a variety of applications, we do recommend that it has a keyboard (can be external) and a USB port. A laptop is highly recommended over an iPad.
My interest is in how the device will be used at school.
Mackellar Girls Campus has established a learning environment that strongly supports Google Classroom. Google Classroom is used by teachers in various ways as a place to store resources for students to access, for students to submit work, and as a means of differentiating the curriculum. There are also increasing online apps that students need to access. If you were to visit any classroom any day you would find students using their BYO devices for notes, for research, to use Language or Maths online programs or to follow instructions from Google Classroom. Most courses are totally based on using Google Classroom as the organisational tool through which students learn.
While not every teacher at Mackellar Girls uses ICT every lesson, it is an essential part of every course and is reported on through student assessment. As well, the wireless network in school means students in every classroom can be on a device simultaneously. No school has enough computer labs to achieve what is required in this area.
Why is Mackellar Girls doing this?
University and TAFE learning is now so reliant on digital learning and many schools have been using laptops through years 7-12 for a while, and therefore, we are not prepared to disadvantage our students in their learning by not moving forward with BYOD. A vast number of public schools across the state are now BYOD schools.
How can my daughter print from her device at school?
The student can email the work to themselves or save their work to the cloud. Then they can go to a desktop device, open their work, and print in the usual way. Alternatively, they may save their work onto a USB and print from any school desktop computer. As Web Print is now available, students also have the option of printing from their BYO devices