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Technology (BYOD Program)

At Mater Maria Catholic College, the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program supports 21st century teaching and learning. In order to achieve the goal of developing Engage, Positive, Independent and Connected (EPIC learners) the College encourages the use of resources that provide diverse learning opportunities matched to each student’s individual needs. The use of personal technology allows for more active and collaborative engagement in learning inside and outside of the classroom and specifically provides opportunities:

  • To use specific apps to support diverse needs
  • For self-paced and/or self-directed learning
  • To demonstrate learning in a wider range of ways
  • To prepare students for a modern workplace where the so called 21st century skills including creativity, innovation, critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, communication, independence and time management are highly valued
  • To meet the requirements of the Australian Curriculum to develop the same set of same set of general capabilities mentioned above as well as literacy, numeracy, ethical behaviour, personal and social competence and intercultural understanding.

BYOD Program Code of Conduct

Information relating to the program is formally communicated via the Parents Portal on the College website such as the:

  • Policies and procedures that students will need to follow
  • Prescribed free College apps
  • Prescribed eTextbook list

What will this mean for our students?

Students will still need to have a written work book for the majority of their subjects – the device will continue to be a resource that is used to support learning at the discretion of the teacher.

Students will need to submit homework and assessments in a format that can be accessed by staff e.g. through the Google suite of apps for education. Students will be able to connect a single device to the school’s Wi-Fi – the device should be a laptop or tablet and meet the specifications below.

NB: The College will connect the BYOD device to the school WiFi, however, all warranty, support, accidental damage and loss/theft issues are the responsibility of the parent.

Please note that we do not support iPads and Google Chrome Books.

iPads were phased out at the end of 2021.

Mater Maria > Protected: Portal > Technology (BYOD)

Windows device

A current Name Brand Windows laptop or tablet with the Windows 10 Operating System (excluding Windows 10s)

Other Specifications:

  • 13″-14″ screen size
  • 8 hour advertised battery life
  • 8th Gen Intel Core i5 (or equivalent AMD processor)
  • 8GB RAM memory
  • 256GB Solid State Drive (SSD) storage
  • Biometric Technology (used for Windows 10 Hello) desirable
  • WiFi5 (802.11ac 2×2) wireless support
  • Three year warranty with accidental damage protection

Apple Device (MacBook Air and Pro)

The operating system must be MacOS Monterey 12.3 or higher.

Other Specifications:

  • 13″-14” screen size for laptops
  • 8 hour advertised battery life
  • 8th Gen Intel Core i5 (or equivalent AMD processor)
  • 8GB RAM memory
  • 256GB Solid State Drive storage
  • Biometric Technology (used for Windows 10 Hello) desirable
  • WiFi5 (802.11ac 2×2) wireless support
  • Three year warranty with accidental damage protection

Free Software for all Students - Office 365

Students within the Broken Bay Diocese are entitled to download Office 365 for home use on up to 5 personal devices, as long as they remain as a student within the diocese. After this time the software will automatically revert to a read and print only version. Instructions for the home download process are attached below:  

Free software – Office 365 home download process for BYOD Windows 10

Free software – Office 365 home download process for BYOD MacBook

Free software – Office 365 home download process for BYOD IPAD

Helpful Student User Guides

Purchasing a new device

Should parents be looking to purchase a device for their children, the links below provide you with some information and purchase options. The below links are for your convenience only and the school is not endorsing the purchase of a device from any particular supplier, this is your choice.

APPLE

Apple has offered special education pricing through its website CSBB 39 Mater Maria Warriewood | Virtunet inMart for a student at Mater Maria Catholic College.

DELL

Dell is currently in the process of establishing special education pricing through its website for a student at Mater Maria Catholic College. For a short period of time, this website link is currently unavailable.