Today’s digital landscape has evolved to the point where IT and computing touches on nearly every industry. To prepare for the challenges that students will face in the future, Patterson River Secondary College provide students with the ability to connect their own device to the Colleges extensive wireless network and leverage Microsoft 365 platform for a majority of their classroom needs.

 

Benefits of a bring your own device (BYOD) program

• Families are not locked into the requirement of purchasing/leasing a new device upon starting secondary school
• No need to buy/update software for school
• Cloud based file storage for students (no lost work) via Office 365

 

Giving students the opportunity to learn on a device they feel familiar with and using best of breed technologies like Microsoft 365 which is used in most industries, preparing students for what they might experience in the workforce.

 

Device minimum specifications

Device specifications that must be met:

• Screen Size must be above 10 inches and no more than 17 inches (Please be mindful, generally larger screens are heavier for students to carry).
• Device must be able to hold charge for the entire school day (Chargers are discouraged from being used in classrooms as they create a trip hazard).
• Protective cover and carry case
• Warranty and Insurance (Please note Private property brought to school by students, staff or visitors is not covered by DE Insurance -https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/insurance/policy)
• Camera and microphone.
• Compatible with 5GHz wifi

PC

• Must have Windows 11 or above installed

Mac

• Must have MacOS version 13 or above installed

* Please note the college does not support Chromebooks, iPads and Linux based operating systems.

 

Purchasing

Patterson River Secondary College does not mandate a specific computer from a specific supplier and encourages parents/guardians to find the best device that suits their needs for their student at the best possible price.

If you need to purchase a device the Department of Education (DE) has a list of authorised suppliers for computers and hardware to schools, these are reputable companies that have been tested and approved by DET. The College has no formal relationship with these vendors and receives no financial benefit if families choose to purchase from these vendors. The DE approved vendors are:

• Learning with Technology – http://PRSC.orderportal.com.au
• Edunet – https://pattersonriversc.technologyportal.com.au

IT Support offered to BYOD devices is limited to assisting with access to the College’s wireless network and Microsoft 365. Support outside those areas may be offered but not guaranteed and any worked carried out will need to be approved by a parent/guardian/carer.

 

Getting your child’s laptop school ready

There are a few things we ask families to do before students commence school, to ensure their laptop is ready to be logged onto our system. Please take the time to complete the following tasks before your child starts school.

 

Disable S Mode 

S mode is designed for security and performance by exclusively running apps from the Microsoft Store. Unfortunately, this environment is restrictive for installing school specific programs and the NAPLAN Lock Down Browser app needed to run a secure testing environment. For this reason we ask parents to turn off S mode on their child/ren’s devices. Instructions can be found at – https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/windows/switching-out-of-s-mode-in-windows-4f56d9be-99ec-6983-119f-031bfb28a307

 

Laptop Passwords

Whilst the college provides a network password to access school online resources, your laptop will still need to be setup with a local password to access the laptop itself. This password should be a secure complex password. Please make aure your child knows what it is so they can get started at school.

 

Parental Controls 

Our Internet access is controlled via a secure environment provided by the Dept of Education Victoria. Parental Controls can be appropriate for early years education but are restrictive for students in secondary school  when installing software and accessing websites desired for class work. Please revise the Parental Controls on your child’s school device if you have previously set them up.

 

Microsoft 365/ Microsoft Office 

The college provides 5 installations of Microsoft 365 (formally Microsoft Office 365) so there is no need to purchase a copy. To install a copy of Microsoft 365 please visit the IT School Resources page on the college IT website – https://it.prsc.vic.edu.au/category/it-school-resources/ for instructions on how to install a copy on your device. We will also support all students to do this on their laptops.

For more information, please check the College website BYOD tab or contact the College IT department by emailing ict@prsc.vic.edu.au