Senior BYOD Program
Year 10, 11 and 12 students are required to bring a personal Windows or Mac BYO device to the College, fully charged, each day. This device must meet the following specifications:
| 2024 BYO Device Requirements | |
|---|---|
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Processor
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Intel i5, AMD Ryzen 5 (or better)
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Memory
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16GB Recommended
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Storage
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Solid State Drive - 240GB or larger
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|
Battery Life
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All-day battery life (advertised as 6 or more hours)
|
|
Connectivity
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AC or AX Wireless (may be noted as 802.11ac/Wi-Fi 5 or better)
|
|
Screen Size
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13” screen is ideal (recommend no smaller than 12” or larger than 14”)
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Input
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Must have a physical keyboard and touchpad
|
If families have any concerns about these requirements, or have an existing device and are not sure if it will be suitable, we encourage they make contact with the College ICT team at (08) 8561 4200 or via email at eHelp@faith.sa.edu.au, as soon as possible.
In preparation for 2024, the College has partnered with Australian company Learning with Technologies (LWT) who support BYOD programs in schools across the country. Families who wish to organise a new device for their Year 10/11/12 student can visit the LWT Order Portal where a suitable 'all rounder' device is available to purchase. Please see further details below under our 'Frequently Asked Questions'.
Year 10 students in 2024 have the option of continuing to use their Dell Latitude device from the Middle Years Laptop Program (Years 7/8/9) if it is still in satisfactory physical condition.
· Students who commenced at the Middle & Senior School at Year 7 in 2021 no longer have warranty & accidental damage protection on their device.
· Students who commenced at the Middle & Senior School at Year 8 in 2022 have 1 year of warranty & accidental damage protection remaining on their device.
There are numerous Windows-based laptops and 2-in-1/convertible touchscreen devices, in addition to several Apple MacBook models, available on the market that will meet the recommendations. Families are free to choose a make and model that suits their needs and budget; however, there can be certain subjects that will restrict this choice:
Design & Technology (that is Tech Studies, not Graphic Design) students use 3D drawing programs which require a Windows operating system and will not work on MacOS.
If purchasing a device from a retailer, it is recommended that families print this information and take it with them to confirm the device they are buying meets the requirements listed above. A printer friendly version of this information can be found here:
In addition to BYO Devices, there are several computer labs available at the College for subject-specific tasks, to be used when directed by teaching staff. There are also a small number of laptops available for loan on a per-lesson basis from the College Library. This would typically only be in the circumstance where a BYO device has been left at home, has run out of charge, or College-specific software is required. A College-owned laptop or desktop PC is not to be relied upon as a student’s primary device.
All BYO Devices are to be used in accordance with the policies and expectations outlined in the Student Contract: ICT Use document, signed and agreed to by all students and families. Some key points of this document include:
- Students must not access, transmit or store any illegal, offensive, or inappropriate content on their BYO device. The College reserves the right to inspect any electronic devices and/or storage brought into the College.
- Students are not to abuse, harass, or partake in acts of cyber-bullying using any form of technology.
- The College requires students to store all work and assessment tasks in OneDrive where it is backed up automatically to the ‘cloud’ where it can be retrieved from any device.
- Files must be saved in appropriate, efficient formats, eg written tasks should be stored in Microsoft Word (.docx) or PDF format and videos should be saved in MP4 format.
- Use of removable storage such as USB flash drives for storing work is not recommended due to their unreliable nature.
BYO Device Program - Frequently Asked Questions
In preparation for 2024, the College has partnered with Australian company Learning with Technologies (LWT) who support BYOD programs in schools across the country. Families who wish to organise a new device for their Year 10/11/12 student can visit the LWT Order Portal where a suitable 'all rounder' device is available to purchase. The Lenovo Thinkpad L13 Yoga available to families includes a 3 Year Hardware Warranty (with all repairs handled by the College ICT team) as well as optional Accidental Damage Protection that families can add at the time of purchase.
LWT Order Portal: https://faithsa.orderportal.com.au/
LWT offer various payment and finance options to families. Any financing arrangements are made between Learning with Technologies PTY LTD and the customer (eg parent or caregiver) and do not involve Faith Lutheran College.
As part of the College’s many software license agreements, we offer a number of software programs to families at no charge. This can represent a significant monetary saving when purchasing a device for students. Some of the key software packages are shown below:
| Software | Notes |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Office 365 | Includes Microsoft Office apps Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher and Outlook |
| Adobe Creative Cloud Suite | Includes Photoshop, Premiere, InDesign, Illustrator, plus other key Adobe design products |
| PTC Creo Parametric | 3D Computer Aided Design tool used by Design & Technology subjects |
All software available to students is to be downloaded from the Faith Student Portal at the following web address: https://students.faith.sa.edu.au/
Students are encouraged to follow the instructions available on the Downloads page and attempt to install the software themselves, and if they have any problems with this they can visit the ICT Centre for assistance.
Families are encouraged to discuss the responsibilities their children have, when bringing their own computing devices to the College. Any devices students bring to the College are their sole responsibility. Faith College takes no liability for damaged, lost or stolen personal computing devices. Many home contents insurance policies will cover portable devices against theft, loss and damage outside the home and it is recommended that families investigate and confirm this with their insurer.
Students are required to bring their BYO device fully charged to the College each day. If a student brings their device to the College with a battery either completely flat or not fully charged, they will be directed to the library where they can borrow an older College-owned laptop for that particular day. This is not to be relied upon as a regular option for students, as the chosen BYO device must meet the requirements of all-day battery life.
The Faith ICT team is able to provide limited assistance to students with BYO devices. Areas where ICT staff can assist include connecting the device to the College WiFi network, setting up email accounts, and helping to install software provided by the College. This is in addition to general assistance provided to all students, such as help printing or accessing College systems like OneDrive and Daymap, and help with software programs used for their studies.
If students experience significant technical issues with their BYO device, we are happy to provide an initial assessment and give advice; however, we are unable to provide physical repairs to equipment or other major work such as reinstalling an Operating System on a device.