The Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) philosophy and 2016 laptop purchasing advice

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1 The Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) philosophy and 2016 laptop purchasing advice In Brief All students in Year 7-12 must have their own technology (tablet or laptop) which is brought to school every day for easy access to the Internet, note-taking, seamless assignment work and organisation etc. The school will assist by establishing a relationship with reputable outlets which parents may choose to use. We will also make suggestions about suitable devices. Read on for more detailed information. Background For many years, Nepean Christian School has provided quality, affordable Christcentred education. The school is blessed to be well resourced in terms of computer technology as part of the education experience. We have two major labs, a mix of Windows and Mac computers, plus ipads, projectors and flat screen displays in various locations. The school has a dedicated high-speed fibre-optic link to the Internet, and access is protected with appropriate filters. We are adapting to the advantages provided by the digital delivery of learning content, and those tools that assist students to submit work and receive feedback online. Why is technology important? Being technology-literate helps students to live their learning in God-glorifying ways through being socially aware, civically engaged and vocationally prepared citizens. 1

2 Why BYOT? We want all students to have beneficial access to technology in every lesson. We would like this access to be immediate and spontaneous. We want learning adventures to happen on computers without having to relocate the class to a computer lab. To achieve this, we are asking all students in Years 7-12 to have their own technology device. We think this is best for a number of reasons, including: a) Easy access to technology in every lesson, rather than moving to a computer lab. b) Some students may already have access to devices that they would prefer to use. c) When students own their devices, they are more careful with looking after them. d) Owning one s own device develops responsibility and good stewardship. e) Students will be using the same technology no matter where they are learning or studying at school, at home, on a camp/excursion, on holidays, at a local library, etc. Some schools are quite proscriptive in mandating the technology students use, but we advocate a Bring Your Own Device (BYOT) philosophy, which allows families more flexibility to choose the platform (Mac or Windows) and budget that suits them, subject to certain minimum capabilities being met. Broadly, what is suitable and what is not suitable? All students must have a tablet or laptop device with a dedicated keyboard (not just an on-screen keyboard) running Windows 7, 8 or 10, or any Apple Mac laptop. Devices that are dual laptop/tablet hybrids such as the Microsoft Surface are OK, so long as they have a dedicated keyboard and trackpad (which is often built into the case). We do not recommend: any device running Windows RT; any devices described as Google Chromebooks or running the Android operating system; or ipads. Any device below a certain physical size would be impractical. Some micro-sized PCs with tiny screens and tiny keyboards will not be suitable. We suggest a 10-inch screen as a minimum. We do not require devices that have their own separate cellular internet connection. How much should this cost? The recommendations we make about hardware will range from $500 at the low end to around $1200. We don t recommend that you spend less. 2

3 How long should a computer last? For a secondary student getting a new computer in year 7, we would not expect that that laptop would be adequate through to the end of year 12, but that it would be renewed in year 10 or 11. Will I need to buy software? No. It is not necessary for you to purchase Microsoft Office software with your computer; the school has a site licence for Office365 which permits the full Office suite to be installed on BYOT devices. Any other software that we require students to use will be either free of available to use on school computers. Do I need anti-virus or anti-malware software? Windows computers should have some kind of anti-virus or anti-malware protection. We observe that many manufacturers bundle their new computers with a time-limited trial versions of commercial anti-virus software from Norton or McAfee. While quite OK within the trial period (ranging from a few months up to 1 year), after trial software expires we do not recommend paying for antivirus software when free alternatives exist. These free alternatives include: - Windows Defender (AKA Microsoft Security Essentials) also provides basic protection and is bundled with machines running Windows 8 and above. - AVG Free is an adequate third party application that can be downloaded at no charge. - Avast Mac Security is an adequate third party application that can be downloaded at no charge. We also recommend avoiding installing free or paid utilities purporting to tune up, clean, turbo-charge or protect PCs as frequently these programs do precisely the opposite. Is there any advantage to one platform over another? For some, this is a Ford vs Holden question with a subjective element. For the basic tasks of creating text, spreadsheet and presentation documents, the licence for Office the school extends your child will work on Macs and PCs. Software exists for both platforms to edit multimedia, create movies, create music, and interface with school devices for certain purposes (scanners, printers, robotic lego, etc). Our role is not to be partisan. As a BYOT school, provided the other requirements we ve described are followed, we will help your child work with whatever technology they bring to the school. 3

4 Right. Now all that s been said, what spec of computer is needed? The device will need to have wi-fi capacity ( a/b/g/n), and overwhelmingly all new devices do. The school s wi-fi uses the n standard and is backwardly compatible. In order to give reasonable speed and utility over its ~3 year life, we recommend 4Gb of RAM as a minimum. Many PCs at the cheapest end of the price scale come with 2Gb but their performance is very unsatisfactory under Windows or Mac OS-X. Storage on laptops comes in the form of Hard Disk Drives (HDD) or Solid State Drives (SSD). HDD s have a motorised spindle and sensitive moving parts and are more susceptible to damage with general wear and tear or sudden motion. However, they offer much greater storage at cheaper prices. SSD drives are made entirely of chips and have no moving parts, conferring much greater durability, but at greater cost. The choice of HDD vs SSD is a function of budget, the overall need for storage, and even how responsible you feel your child will be in taking care of equipment. We would therefore say that SSD is preferred, but HDD is acceptable. If your child is digitally literate and shows signs of being technologically oriented, wanting to create videos, music or do photography editing, buying a higher-spec device should be considered. 4

5 Surely the school can assist us by negotiating bulk-buy discounts or an arrangement with finance, extended warranty or insurance? Yes, we can! As a new initiative, we are pleased to announce a partnership between Nepean Christian School and both Apple Computer Australia and with JB Hi-Fi Education. An online portal now exists for you to make purchases for a selection of Windows and Apple Mac laptops which meet our criteria, at a range of price points. We are not obliging you to buy through this portal, but we are happy to offer it as an aid to your decision making. Go to the school s website and see the BYOT option in the Involve menu or go straight to this URL: The advantages of buying through one of these partners are: - Our recommended hardware meets all the requirements mentioned in this document, and options are presented at different price points to accommodate your budget. We assess the good/better/best options presented at each level. - One stop shop for warranty and support through the Apple store at Penrith Plaza, or the JB Hi-Fi outlets in the Plaza or near the Harvey Norman complex on Mulgoa road. - Competitive education pricing which is cheaper than retail pricing for the same equipment. - Ease of access to extended warranty or device insurance. - Ease of access to finance plans so the purchase price can be spread over a longer period of time Do I need to buy extended warranty for devices? Many extended warranty up-sells offered by retailers give you three years of protection, but are worded in such a way that the consumer thinks that this extends the standard warranty from one year to three years, but this is not actually the case. Australian Consumer Law confers a statutory protection of two years on devices purchased in Australia against manufacturing defects. This includes screens, power supplies and hard drives. These warranties do not cover against misadventure or general wear and tear experienced over time. If a computer is dropped, or if a keyboard has fizzy drink spilled on it, if a screen is cracked, if the computer is jerked violently by the power cord, or a battery experiences a general reduction in charge capacity, these are not usually covered under warranty. 5

6 How does device insurance differ from warranty? Some retailers offer device insurance specifically to cover circumstances not covered under warranty, such as the cracked screens or drink spillages mentioned above, and even loss or theft. Our experience is that students who adopt a mature attitude of stewardship toward their computers; who keep them in their protective case between uses, rarely break them. You are welcome to contemplate extended warranty or misadventure/loss insurance, but we recommend discernment in checking carefully if they represent real value. Care and maintenance Personal computers should be kept in a protective sleeve, bag or satchel, and we will require adequate protection be purchased for your device. The device and the sleeve/bag should have the students name on it. What about backups? One important skill 21 st Century Learners need to cultivate is to backup data against accidental loss. Students should back up their important data to external USB devices like large capacity thumbdrives or external hard disk drives. They may also make use of cloud based storage such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or the Microsoft OneDrive account each student has associated with their network login at the school (with at least 1000GB of storage). We will assist students to configure their cloud storage, but it remains their responsibility to safeguard their data. What if my child s laptop is out of action for any reason? Your child s teachers need to be told if their laptop is out of action for any reason, and it is your responsibility to make every effort to minimise the downtime. The school has limited capacity to loan any student a laptop, and even then it will be limited to use on school premises. Years 7-12 at Nepean will involve good use of technology, self-directed organisation and focused involvement in learning. I look forward to enjoying this exciting adventure with you and your child. Yours sincerely, Mark Ramsay Secondary Team Leader This document revised October