BYOD - Bring Your Own Device

Welcome to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) at Warrawong High School

Technology is an ever growing presence in our lives and is transforming the classroom. Warrawong High School strives to keep at the forefront of technology, bring your own device is great initiative to keep up with the ever growing and changing technology in our lives.

Our BYOD policy encourages students to be creative, engaged digital citizens and actively participate in their own learning.

At Warrawong High we expect every student to have a device charged and ready to use every day. The school has an open BYOD policy, allowing each family the freedom to select a device. From our experience we are finding that a laptop is the best option for students and highly recommend that parents look into purchasing a laptop for their school use.

To support the BYOD program we offer access to a range of free software. Every student has access to a free Office 365 account and an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription so please be aware when purchasing a device you do not need to purchase any additional software besides virus or malware protection.

Warrawong High employs a full time technical support officer to help students with their devices and is available to parents to answer any question. Details are below.

We understand that it can be quite difficult for families to provide devices for each child. We have been exploring options and would like to recommend Chromebooks as a low cost solution for families, find more information below.

What device is right for me?

This can be a daunting experience selecting the right device for your student, we hope to make it easier for your family with our open policy.

The decision depends of a few factors:

what device does your child already use?
what device are they asking for?
what devices/platforms do your family already own?

The best idea is to have a shop around and let the student see what device will be suited to them. Visit a few stores get some prices and play the stores against each other to ensure you get the best price.

What specifications?

A device with 4GB or more of RAM is a good choice. RAM is the thinking space of a computer and any less than 4GB will be too slow.

The school prefers the device to have the ability to connect by WIFI signal 802.11 N 5GZ some devices may not have this which is fine and will still work on the school ground but for the best user experience ask for 802.11 N 5GZ.

Now there are many other specifications these are still important but most new devices will be fast enough and have enough storage that it is not an issues. Factors such as size and a case can be more important you want the device to be kept safe so that it can be used every day.

Google is your friend if you have found a device your student likes look up reviews on the model number of that device, any question you have has already been answered and a few minutes research and you can go into store feeling confident in your choice.

A laptop is the better solution, Apple make great products but they can be expensive. Windows laptops are a great option there is a massive range of devices available and it comes down to personal preference.

A laptop allows the student to do everything that will be required in the classroom. It allows for a better user experience when typing and researching. Larger laptops will allow for a more battery and a bigger screen but may not be practical for students to carry around all day. The best idea is to have a shop around and let the student see what device will be suited to them. Visit a few stores get some prices and play the stores against each other to ensure you get the best price.

More help?

Please email the Technical Support Officer (TSO) paul.brown1@det.nsw.edu.au for assistance.

Additional resources /guides

Warrawong High School's use of Digital Devices & Online Services Procedures 2021

BYOD Flyer