Bring your own device (BYOD) refers to technology models where students bring a personally owned device to school for the purpose of learning. A personally owned device is any technology device brought into the school and owned by a student. Put simply, BYOD is a solution where students quite literally bring their own device to school to access the internet.
St Catherine’s Catholic College has implemented a mandatory BYOD laptop program for students years 5 to 12. The BYOD program has enabled our students to collaborate, share information and experiences, work across disciplines and take control of their learning.
Students are required to bring their charged laptop to school every day ready for every lesson.
Students must charge their laptop at home every night to its full battery capacity.
Students must ensure that software and operating system updates occur at home. This can be done by ensuring the laptop is fully charged, turned on and connected to the home network. Updating software during a class can result in a considerable loss of learning time.
Parents or guardians are responsible for ensuring their child’s laptop is in working order.
Student laptops must be clearly labelled with the student’s name.
Student laptops are not allowed to be charged at school due to locations of powerpoints and WHS requirements.
As part of the student School Email account, they are entitled to a free full Microsoft Office 365 license. With this license they will be able to license up to 5 devices, including those of family members. The license will stay active while the student is part of this diocese. The software/apps can be installed locally, or they can run it via a browser as a web version.
Depending on the courses they select, the following software might be used as well: Fusion 360 (Free), Minecraft Education Version (Free), full Adobe Creative Cloud Suite (Currently $8/year, included in course fees).
HP created a portal for St Cath’s, as an option. The school will not be involved in the purchase and or repair process. Prices already includes 3-year onsite warranty. For Accidental Breakage, you need to complete the ‘Register Now’ form and then after 4 days they will get in contact to process the ADP insurance order over the phone.
HP's BYOD Flyer, click here or go to: HP_STCathsBYOD, School Code: stccc
Laptops can also be purchased from local retail stores such as JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Domayne, etc. Parents or guardians should check the suggested specifications for student laptops before purchasing a laptop for their child. Harvey Norman in Rutherford has knowledge about the schools requirements. Dell has an official eBay store with specials every so often: DellEbayStore or DellRefurbStore
It is also acceptable to use a ‘hand-me-down’ laptop from an older sibling or parent.
The suggested specifications are:
Types: | Mac or Windows (Windows Preferred) |
Screen size: | 11” or larger, 13.3” is ideal. Touch/2in1 is personal preference. |
Processor: | Intel i5, AMD FX-4300 or similar |
Memory: | 4GB and up |
Storage size: | 128GB and up |
Storage type: | Best; m.2 NVMe, then SATA SSD (eMMC normal 7200 spindle drive not ideal) |
Connectivity: | Wireless support for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz |
Operating System: | macOS, Windows 10/11 Home or Pro (Windows 10S & Chrome OS NOT supported) |
Brand: | Preferred; HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus. |
Device, must have a physical QWERTY keyboard. iOS devices like iPads can work with limited functionality and we suggest not to buy them for school devices.
Headphones; the school requests that every student has a set of headphones for personal use when listening to multimedia resources, and to minimize noise levels in class. Please ensure that any accessories purchased for use at school are clearly labelled.
The school is not liable for accidental or willful damage to laptops caused by students. When a student’s laptop is broken, damaged, not working:
Students will not be allowed to borrow a school-owned laptop if:
Year 5 students and students in other year groups will attend a device setup session in week 1 Term 1. IT Office staff will assist students who begin later in the year.
At this session students are shown how to:
The links below are the typical steps we help the students with to install zscaler and connect to CSMN Wi-Fi