With a common goal to create a more engaging and effective education process here at Kelston Girls' College, we have a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) integration within lessons to make the learning experience engaging and to make sense of the learning. It enhances learning opportunities, encourages empowerment and Responsibility and allows for Collaborative and customized Learning.
Although all seniors students will need to BYOD, all junior students are encouraged to bring their own devices to use in class.
The student and parent need to sign the ‘Bring Your Own Device Agreement’ and the student also needs to sign the ‘Cyber Safety and Acceptable Use Agreement’ after reading it thoroughly.
If a student is loaning a device from school, a Device Loan Agreement must be signed before collecting a device. The device must be handed back at the end of the year during the clearance process.
What do we recommend?
Juniors (Year 9 and 10):
The school will provide chromebooks to all year 9 and 10 in the school year 2024 and possibly 2025. We encourage parents however to have juniors bring in their own device.
Chromebook are not only cost effective, they work smoothly with the Google application environment the school uses. They are easy to keep up-to-date by yourself.
The school has computer labs for more specialised software use and as such a Chromebook will be adequate. The specifications are the same as those below under Seniors.
Seniors (Years 11 - 13)
Chromebooks are adequate for use by seniors and the following specifications will be more than sufficient:
CPU: minimum 1.1 to 2GHz CPU clock/freq speed, Intel Celeron N4020
RAM: 4GB RAM (Ideally 8GB RAM)
GPU: Integrated Graphics is fine
Storage: 128 or 256GB SSD
Camera: YES (requirement)
If you would like a windows laptop then please make sure it has the same minimum requirements as mentioned above.
If your daughter is interested in IT or graphic design classes then we recommend not buying a chromebook but rather a windows device with the following specifications:
CPU: minimum 2GHz CPU clock/freq speed, Intel Celeron N4500
RAM: 8GB RAM (Ideally 16GB RAM)
GPU: 4GB GPU/VGA (Graphics card) memory.
Storage: 256GB SSD
Camera: YES (requirement)
Tablets (e.g. iPads, Android Tablets) do not offer the functionality that students need, even with a remote keyboard.
We have decided to trust in the well-known company ‘Cyclone’. They have an easy-to-use online website where you can select our school and then buy a laptop out of the selection we have made for you. We have tried to offer a wide range of options and give you the option to also buy the necessary device insurance (on top of the warranty). We hope you will find the whole process smooth and easy, but we are happy to assist you if you remain unsure.
Here is the link to the webshop: https://byod.cyclone.co.nz/
You might also think about...
Care for your device
Mishandling laptops is the largest cause of problems. Please read your device care guidelines. We also recommend:
Protect your device with a strong username and password. Do not share these with anyone else.
Store laptops in a protective case, and don’t pile items on top of it in your bag; this can break your device.
Carry your laptop in its case inside your school bag.
Never lift the laptop by the screen. This will stress the hinges, which carries the data and power supply to the screen.
Never leave your laptop in unsupervised areas during the school day.
Insurance
You are responsible for insurance cover for the devices you own. In our BYOD scheme there is an opportunity to buy appropriate insurance.
Most theft or damage might be covered by your existing home contents policy. Please check with your insurance provider that this is the case. Often an excess will apply so you will need to weigh up whether to make a claim.
Life of the device
All devices and hardware have a limited life span, depending on how they are used.
A robust laptop that is well treated may last your daughter for five years at Kelston Girls College, although it may slow in the last two years.
Saving and Backup
Students are responsible for their own backup of data at all times. They may use an external drive or cloud-based platform of your choice (such as google drive).
While they are at Kelston Girls’ College, students have access to Google Drive via their school account with ample storage to keep documents safe.
Security
The security of a student-owned device is the responsibility of the student. Laptops should be engraved or labelled with the student’s name.
Here is a helpful overview from Netsafe on setting up your ‘BYOD’ devices safely: Bring Your Own Device (Netsafe/CERT)
We highly recommend that a parent remains the owner of the device and makes a separate account for their daughter. That way you keep some control on what is installed by your daughter.
Software considerationsManaging software on devices is important.
Microsoft Office 365 and Adobe Creative for Students: Microsoft provides Office 365 to every student free of charge. Even though we use Google Suite at school, your student can download Office 365 onto their (non-chromebook) devices. They can then have access to the latest version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more. This Office subscription lasts for as long as your child is a student and the program continues.
Warranty
Most devices come with a 1-year warranty, but it covers hardware problems that were not caused by the owner, and will only cover the parts and repairs.
You need another insurance to cover damage caused by the owner or someone else. Our chosen supplier does offer a range of extra protection insurances.
Damage to school Devices
Admin Login