Overview
From homes and offices to schools and public spaces, mobile technology is integrated in our daily lives and it has also quickly become a part of the school environment. Bring your own device or 'BYOD', allows students to do just that: bring their own digital device (laptop) to school, for the purposes of learning.
At Heatley Secondary College, we encourage students to use digital technology to enhance their learning and get ready for the world of work after completing their education. A decision has been made to allow all students to Bring Their Own Device to connect to the school network to use in classes (when appropriate) and to take home to complete their homework and any assessments.
Option 1: BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)
This is a term used to describe a digital device ownership model whereby students use their personally owned mobile devices to access the Department's IT network.
Access to the Department's ICT network is provided only if the mobile device meets the Department's security requirements which, at a minimum, requires that anti-virus software is running and is kept updated on the device.
Option 2: Annual school owned laptop hire
We have a limited number of school owned laptops that we hire on an annual basis to students, with priority given to senior school students.
Fees are $150 per annum (required before laptop can be issued). Pro-rata refunds are based on a full school term. New enrolments throughout the year are charged in the same manner.
Should a school owned laptop be accidentally damaged, a $55 repair excess fee will be charged and should a laptop go missing and not recoverable, there is a $200 fee towards replacement. The same applies for malicious / deliberate damage.
Device selection
Before acquiring a device to use at school, the parent/carer and student should be aware of the school's specification of appropriate device type, operating system requirements and software. These specifications relate to the suitability of the device to enable class activities, meet student needs, meet network requirements and promote safe and secure network access.
Minimum hardware requirements for device selection
The device selected by parents must meet certain technical requirements.
If purchasing from a store, it is imperative to note the following minimum specifications before purchase to avoid wasted expenditure and disappointment:
Operating system options:
- Windows 10 or later
- MacOS 10.15 or later
- Not supported: Windows 10 S, Android, Linux/Unix/BSD/*nix, Chrome OS, iOS, iPad OS
Processor: Intel Pentium Quad Core/Intel Dual-Core i3/AMD Ryzen 3 Quad Core
Memory: Minimum 8GB ram
Screen size: Minimum 11 inch
Hard drive: Minimum 128GB SSD
Keyboard:
- must have a tactile (physical) keyboard
- touch screen keyboard alone is not sufficient
Wireless adaptor:
- must support 802.11n 5Ghz wireless networks
- USB ports: minimum of 2
Other:
- hard and/or well-padded protective case
- consider weight / size factor for student well-being and fitting into a school bag
- the student's account on their laptop must be an administrator
Support provided by school
Heatley Secondary College BYOD program will support printing, filtered internet access, and file access and storage whilst at school as well as technical support for diagnosis of hardware / software issues on privately owned devices.
Responsibility for care of device
The student is responsible for taking care of and securing the device and accessories in accordance with school policy and guidelines. Responsibility for loss or damage of a device at home, in transit or at school belongs to the student. Advice should be sought regarding inclusion in home and contents insurance policy for loss and also for accidental damage.
Software: Main programs
When a student signs up for BYOD connectivity, the school will provide information and support with respect to the following software packages where agreements have been entered into between Education Queensland and the vendors for the purpose of providing student software for personally owned devices:
Microsoft office - every student in Education Queensland schools is entitled to download and install Microsoft office onto a maximum of 5 personal devices for free. DO NOT purchase it.
Adobe creative cloud - our students can obtain a free licence or a range of programs in this suite, if required in their school subjects only. This is organised by liaison with classroom teachers at the beginning of the year and again at mid-year.
Suggestions of additional software you may wish to install
Antivirus software: although windows devices have Windows Defender as the default virus protection, you may wish to install a free antivirus program such as Avast or AVG, or purchase Kaspersky or Bitdefender. Be sure to install only 1 of these as having more than one will cause conflicts. Note: if you do install one of these, Windows Defender will automatically 'step down'.
We also recommend installing the following free software: Java, Google Chrome, Adobe Reader and VLC Player.