BYOD at School

Students at MHS are required to bring a personal computing device for use in class to support their learning.

The school has reviewed which devices are best suited for our students’ needs and they may bring either a MacBook, a Windows laptop, or a Chromebook as their digital learning device.

Smartphones are not considered as a suitable main device in the BYOD programme, but can be used in class for educational purposes with teacher approval.

Please feel free to e-mail me if these BYOD pages do not answer your queries.

Regards,

IT Team, Mcauley High School

BYOD Devices

Feel Free to check out our PB Tech portal to find selected devices for school.

PB Tech portal

Specifications

Download the below specification sheet and take it into a PB Tech store to show the sales person and ask them to guarantee that each specification below is
met.

BYOD Specification Sheet

FAQs

Does my daughter have to have a Chromebook or could they use a different device e.g. an iPad or laptop?

Chromebooks are our recommended device for parents to purchase. However, if your daughter has a laptop which meets the device specifications this could be brought to school as an alternative. After exhaustive testing we have found that iPads are not conducive to the high level of productivity needed at high school level. Chromebooks and laptops are more robust than tablets and students using tablets this year have found it difficult to complete work, particularly when documents need to be edited or long reports need to be typed. Chromebooks and laptops are more ergonomically suitable for use for long periods of time and have a USB-port which allows a mouse or external hard drive to be connected.

What are the specifications that the device needs to have?

A Chromebook or a laptop are the only devices suitable for use by Year 9 students from 2016 onwards. The specifications are listed in the the devices section of this website.

What kind of security e.g. lockers are on offer during interval and lunchtime if students do not want to carry around their device?

A number of our community are concerned about the security and safety of equipment in learning areas in the school such as Physical Education. As an example the Physical Education department have fitted lockable cupboards with individual cubbies for student bags and devices – the cupboard is locked at the beginning of the period and unlocked at the end. There is no student or other unauthorised access to this facility.

What kind of internet safety education is on offer at school? For parents?

Currently all students have access to the school Wifi and there have been no issues with this. There is an extremely strong firewall/filter which is constantly updated to ensure the safety of all students.

What kind of financial assistance is available to purchase a device?

We have negotiated a reduced purchase price with PB, Tech Manukau, who are our preferred provider of Chromebooks. A number of purchase plans are available. We are also working with the WINZ who will be aware of our BYOD plans and will work with parents who receive WINZ support. If there are concerns regarding finance please contact your Year Level Dean to arrange a meeting and the school will doing everything necessary to equip our students.

Will students store their work on the Chromebook/device?

Depends. A Chromebooks are connected using the student’s unique MHS Google Account. Students will be accessing and storing documents using Google Apps which stores and saves documents automatically online – however – work can be saved offline on their device as necessary.

What if my Chromebook breaks during the day?

If the laptop is broken you can contact our IT Team and they will assist where they can.

Do I need to purchase any software?

No. Generic software for web browsing, word processing etc would be satisfactory for use in class. A student at MHS also has free access to Google applications and very good online versions of Docs, Sheets, Slides and more.