BYOD
“Digital devices have the potential to expand and enhance interaction in the classroom, enable more real-world activities, improve learning environments and engage students in new and exciting ways. Opportunities for collaboration and problem-solving are expanded beyond the classroom in an online environment.”
Ministry of Education
In 2016 our Board decided to open Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) to Year 7 and 8 students and allow devices to be brought to school on a regular basis throughout the year.
However, BYOD is entirely optional. Students will continue to have access to school owned devices, at a ratio of 1:2. In 2022 our community decided that they would extend optional BYOD to Years 5 and 6.
In 2018 our community decided that they would continue to support BYODD (Bring Your Own Device on Demand) in Years 5 and 6 to enable more devices to be utlitised for heavier technological units of inquiry.
Glendowie School encourages students who have access to an existing suitable device at home, to bring their device to school every day and to use it as one of the many learning tools utilised in the classroom. We firmly believe that devices supports learning but if the learning is more suited to pen and paper, pencil and paint, we will use that.
For your information, we have put together documentation including;
- The Rationale
- Frequently Asked Questions
- An Agreement Form*
* The agreement form will be sent out to Year 7 and 8 students at the start of each school year. It must be completed, signed and returned to the school before your child can bring their device. The previous BYOD or BYODD form will no longer be valid.
Many of our students are already using digital devices inside and outside of school to communicate and learn. A student owned internet capable device can be an important part of their learning toolkit that will provide them instant access to unlimited resources and enable them to support, extend, communicate and share their learning in a way that will better prepare them for the future.
For further advantages, click here.
We are aware of our local college requirements for BYOD. We do not wish parents to spend a significant amount of money for our BYOD programme on a device that may not meet their college of choice requirements. Therefore for the trial we recommend a device already owned by the family/student that meets the following requirements:
In terms of Year 8, consider aligning the device to one they can use at their Y9 college (we suggest you check with the college): View Glendowie College Requirements.
● Battery Life – long enough to get through a school day without recharging
● Size – must be suitable for prolonged word processing (no smartphones or mini tablets)
● Weight – light enough for your child to carry easily
● Wireless Access – must have wireless access to the internet (3G and 4G devices must have the SIM card removed before coming to school)
● Speed – devices need to be modern and fast enough to avoid frustration
● Must be able to access G Suite (Google Suite) either via app or Chrome web browser (students must be logged into Chrome, with their G Suite account, for Hapara Teacher Dashboard security purposes)
● Laptops – must have up-to-date anti-virus software
● A full keyboard (not on screen) is preferable but not essential
● No gaming hardware such as PSPs (Playstation Portable).
If you do intend to purchase a device then we recommend a Chromebook as they are less expensive, work seamlessly with the Google environment, have cloud-based storage, automatically complete software updates without disruption, are lightweight and have less on-device distractions. We have a number of suppliers who may have discounts available.
Cyclone – all options (please use username: glendowieschool and password: gsbyod)
Noel Leeming (we suggest you take your time to view the options. Click on the links to chromebook and laptop options).