Technology and the use of digital tools are increasingly important across all areas of the curriculum. Students at North Sydney Boys will be required to bring a mobile computing device to school every day, except on Wednesdays when student attend sport in the afternoon.
Students may bring any device that meets our device specifications (see below) and is able to work with the NSBHS wireless infrastructure. The BYOD policy has been designed to enable students and parents to make technology choices that suit their circumstances within the specifications required.
Devices must have software to allow the students to fully participate in class activities. Though the school will be able to give students basic assistance, the device still belongs to the student, and it is the student's responsibility to keep it secure and functional.
Parents and students will be required to sign a user charter that sets out how the device can be used at school.
Bring your own device
Families may already own devices or may choose to purchase a suitable device.
Devices need to meet minimum specifications. If they do not meet the specifications below, devices will not function/or be suitable for our environment. Chromebooks and iOS devices are not able to complete all tasks a student will be engaged with.
Minimum specifications include:
- Microsoft Windows 10, Windows 11 or Apple macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) or above
- Laptop, tablet or convertible/hybrid device
- Tablet devices must have a physical hardware keyboard with A-Z and 0-9 keys that move when depressed.
- At least 6 hours battery life (students are not allowed to bring chargers to school)
- Screen size - 9.7" - 13.3" (inches)
- Wi-Fi with 5Ghz 802.11ac
It may also be important to consider the following when choosing a device:
- Maximum weight of 2kg
- Minimum RAM 8GB
- Solid state drive (SSD) storage, at least 120GB in size
- Accidental loss and breakage insurance
- Additional warranty - devices purchased through retail outlets usually come with 1 year of warranty. Some vendors may offer extended warranty.
Software
Software recommended to be installed on a student BYOD device is:
- A web browser such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari
- Microsoft Office
- Adobe Acrobat
All NSW high school students are provided free access to some Microsoft and Adobe software for use at school or home, these products can be accessed via the student portal:
- Office 365: Online Office apps
- Students portal > Learning > Office 365
- Microsoft Office 365 Desktop Apps: May be installed on up to 5 computers and 10 mobile devices.
- Students portal > Learning > Office 365 > Install Office
- Minecraft Education Edition
- Adobe Creative Cloud
Keeping devices secure
Experience has demonstrated that students are generally capable of keeping their devices secure. However, there are many anti-virus software options available, such as Windows Defender, if this is a concern.
You are advised to consider insuring the device against loss or damage, particularly if it is of significant value since the school and the Department of Education does not accept liability for loss or damage to student devices.