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Students in Years 5, 6 and 7 are invited to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) to school for use in learning. The recommended device is a tablet, iPad or laptop. iPads loaded with these apps are ideal: iMovie Pages Keynote Numbers Garage Band. A protective case or cover is also a good idea. We have found mobile phones and iPods are not successful due to their small screen size.
2015 – BYOD
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A couple of years ago we trialled allowing children in Years 5 -7 to bring to school a personal mobile device to use in their learning. Learning technologies are most effective when students have access to their own personal device when they need it, not when it’s their turn. It’s also important for students to be using a personal device that has their own work on it, one that they can take home.
So… for two years now we have invited children in Years 5, 6 & 7 to connect their own device to our school network for use in their learning (and only for their learning).
Students can use the devices for internet searching during research, for presentations and film making, and work can be emailed or sent to the cloud so teachers can assess and give feedback.
This has been very successful, without any devices being damaged, and only a very few children being counselled for using the device for music, video/movies or social
networking.
Students are expected to follow the ICT Use Agreement
(attached) at all times. BYOD hasn’t increased the number of students who needed help to get this right.
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2015 – BYOD
Governing Council has approved the BYOD program to continue following a two year trial.
All Year 5, 6 and 7 students are invited to bring, connect and use their own device (for learning only) at school.
Please note:
Students don’t have to bring a personal device to school, but they can, with parental agreement.
Students who don’t BYOD will have access to school iPads and computers.
Any BYOD computer, iPad or tablet will connect to our network. Tablets are recommended as they are not too big on busy desks but the screen and keypad are big enough for writing. They also have a range of quality educational apps and easy film making apps.
Students will not share their device with other children and need to take responsibility for keeping it safely stowed when not in use. Studios will provide places to keep devices.
The devices will not be used for activities other than the learning program during school time. Before and after school, recess and lunch time are Screen Free times. Devices stay inside or in school bags.
Internet access will go through all the normal filtering that the school devices use.
If your child’s device has 3G or 4G connection they can bypass the school filtering just as they do at home. These are not necessary, or desirable at school, unless you believe your child can manage that responsibility and accept consequences. (Refer ICT Use Agreement).
Year 4 students who are in a year 4/5 Studio may apply to the Principal to BYOD.
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Digital
experience of the world should never replace or compete with real life
experience for children.
However, there are some things technology can bring to
children’s learning that make it worth the investment.
Learning Technologies –
Learning for Changing Times
The way we think about technologies in learning environments is changing constantly. In fact, many
educators have stopped talking about ‘21st Century Skills’ and begun using the phrase, ‘Learning for Changing Times’. This description encourages us to think about the skills and dispositions children will need as they enter a future with less predictability and greater challenge than previous generations. It’s hard to imagine a ‘changing times’ approach to learning that doesn’t include technologies, particularly as children make their way into upper primary school.
Digital experience of the world should never replace or compete with real life experience for children. However, there are some things technology can
bring to children’s learning that make it worth the investment. At BPS we want our children to work with others to solve complex problems. We want children to use technologies within learning programs that help them to be better thinkers, collaborators and communicators.
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We work with children to develop their:
Questioning skills – their ability to design questions in the search for
understanding and meaning, not just information.
Skills as text creators, who can work alone or as part of a team to produce movies and writing that informs, persuades and entertains people within our school and beyond the school gate.
Understanding of alternative views and conceptual misconceptions through Community of Inquiry, Philosophy and Personalised Learning. Technologies can bring the thinking of the world into our Studios, and allow us to engage with the images, movies, artworks and writings of other people, other cultures and other languages. This helps each of us to figure out what we think about issues and what we understand about concepts. Technologies allow us to share our learning, too, using images, words and sound to engage our audience.
Organisation for learning and life; a personal, connected device helps children be more organised, self-managing their learning, schedules and
communications. They can develop better work flow practices and this of course means better achievement. And they can share their learning with parents and teachers more easily.
Learning for Changing Times:
Doesn’t mean children need an expensive lap top. We have found that with a tablet and a few inexpensive apps children can engage fully in the kind of learning we have previously described.
iPads provide excellent scaffolding for the film making process, which means the technology gets out of the way, and creativity takes over. However, any other tablet or laptop can connect successfully to our network and provide opportunities for research and presentation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are children disadvantaged if they don’t bring a device to school?
No. Children in Years 5-7 will continue to have access to iPads and laptops in their Studio.
Does the device need to have 3G, 4G connectivity?
No. Children can connect their device wirelessly to our filtered school network. If children have a device that connects to the internet in the same way a phone does, it will bypass the school filtering, just as it does when they use it at home. Parents will need to decide if their child is ready for this kind of responsibility and the consequences. There are no costs for families when children connect their device to the school network.
Will this increase ‘screen time’ for children?
No. Children will continue to work in a balanced and varied learning program with
technologies adding to the quality of that learning. What will change is ‘just in time’ access, better organisation and an ability to continue working on things when inspiration strikes.
Will children use the device during lunch and recess?
No. Lunch and recess are for running around, playing with friends and getting some fresh air. Before and after school are screen free times.
What will happen if children use a device for anything other than the learning program or at the wrong time?
We already ask families to sign an ITC Use Agreement for the use of school devices. The new agreement has been slightly modified to include children’s personal devices. We take Cyber Safety seriously at BPS and require children to use technology safely and responsibly. We will continue to teach children safe ways to learn with technology and support them to be responsible and respectful users.
What about insurance?
The device will need to be covered by your home insurance as the school cannot replace lost, damaged or stolen personal equipment.
Can we buy a device through the school?
At this point in time, we believe families can get a better deal through retail outlets. Some have schemes where you can pay technologies off, interest free, and many offer better prices than schools can negotiate through educational suppliers. Having said that, please let us know if you need some help and we can investigate a rent to buy scheme through the school.
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Background Information
What are 21st C Skills?
Many researchers and educational leaders who work in the development of contemporary learning skills advocate collaboration and connection as the critical features of learning.
Once such group, ATC21S, started with a group of more than 250 researchers across 60 institutions worldwide who categorized 21st-century skills internationally into four broad categories:
Ways of thinking - Creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and learning
Ways of working - Communication and collaboration
Tools for working - Information and communications technology (ICT) and information literacy
Skills for living in the world - Citizenship, life and career, and personal and social responsibility.
Putting Concepts into Practice
The ATC21S project has now moved from conceptual to practical, working with two skills that span all four categories:
Collaborative problem-solving - Working together to solve a common challenge, which involves the contribution and exchange of ideas, knowledge or resources to achieve the goal.
ICT literacy - Learning through digital means, such as social networking, ICT literacy, technological awareness and simulation. Each of these elements enables individuals to function in social networks and contribute to the development of social and intellectual capital.
Adapted from ATCS - Assessment and Teaching of 21st C Skills: What are 21st Century Skills?
http://atc21s.org/index.php/about/what-are-21st-century-skills/
At Bridgewater Primary, we want our children to develop and learn in ‘age and stage’ appropriate, contemporary learning environments. We want them to build their responsibility and skills along the way,
as competent,
creative, respectful
and productive young people.
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What I love about my children having a connected, personal device is I can email them, and they can email me, at any time. This way I feel more
connected to their learning, I have a better understanding of what they are doing and how they are going. They are learning how to learn and communicate in contemporary ways. They are more organised. They are learning to manage their digital identity. I believe BYOD through the school filtering is an age appropriate way to develop 21st Century skills. This is the way society organises itself and communicates these days and my children are learning important life and learning skills.
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Bridgewater Primary School ICT Use Agreement 2015
- Year 4 plus
Includes BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) ICT Equipment - Year 5 to 7
(Curriculum Computer Network, General Hardware and Equipment, Internet and Email Use)
I understand and agree to the following:
1. I will use ICT resources for appropriate, educational learning tasks only while at school. (No games, movies or personal browsing etc.)
2. I will not use devices at recess, lunch time, or before or after school while on school grounds. 3. I will not take or share images (photos or videos) of myself or other students.
4. I will not use, handle or take other people’s device and will use school ICT carefully and responsibly. 5. I will only create, access, copy, distribute material that is appropriate and not offensive.
6. I will keep my personal details (last name, address, phone number, etc.) and those of others, in any electronic communications, private.
7. I will keep my passwords private.
8. I will only access my user account and Internet account.
9. I will referenceany material copied/downloaded from the internet and not breach copyright. 10. I will only transfer current school work to and from school.
11. I will be responsible for the management of my files. 12. I will quickly report any equipment faults.
13. I will quickly report the misuse of any ICT equipment that I notice to an adult. This includes inappropriate on line postings or using equipment for things other than school tasks.
14. I will follow the borrowing procedures.
15. I accept that breaking this agreement will result in losing access to ICT resources for an amount of time.
16. Families will be involved if students disregard instructions or this agreement. Consequences may include counseling, loss of ICT use, repair or replacement of equipment willfully or carelessly damaged, and/or suspension from school. As the Internet gives access to information and computer systems around the world, users, and parents of users, need
to understand that neither Bridgewater Primary School nor any staff member controls the content of the information available on the internet. DECD Internet filtering and adult supervision provide a very high level of protection and monitoring, but users must be aware that access to the Internet carries responsibilities that should be followed at all times.
BPS STUDENT AND PARENT ICT USE AGREEMENT 2015
Student's Name ……….………. Studio ………
Student's Signature ………..………… Date ……..… /………… /……… I have read the Bridgewater Primary School ICT Use Agreement and accept the identified guidelines.
