Newsletter Week 5 Tech Talk - Chromebooks

Last week it was announced in the newsletter that the Community Council endorsed the decision to move to Chromebooks from Year 4 as our preferred BYOD device from 2023. Over the coming weeks we’ll share further information about the change. This week we’ll share information about the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) journey. 

Why BYOD in the first place? Some history:

The purpose of the Bring Your Own Device program (BYOD) is about getting technology into the hands of all students and not relying on shared school devices. We wanted all students to have access to a device that supports their learning and allows them to develop and apply Information Communication Technology (ICT) knowledge and skills, including digital citizenship, as per the ICT capability in the Australian Curriculum. The learning opportunities that technology promotes include:   

• communicating ideas in a variety of ways;
• problem solving and thinking critically;
• creativity and creating content;
• facilitating access to, management of, and sharing of information;
• collaboration among students and the global community.

When MTS began planning for and implementing a BYOD program in 2015/2016, iPads were chosen as the sole device due to their portability, functionality and features as a learning tool. The options for student appropriate devices were slim and iPads accomodated the purpose at the time. Initially the program was implemented in Year 6, then Years 5 and 4 were added to the program over subsequent years.

Since the inception of our BYOD program, a variety of devices have come onto the market and are better tailored to student learning needs. While these features and functions of iPads are still valuable and still have a place at Mother Teresa School, the feedback from teachers is that there are currently limitations on what can be achieved with iPads and more suitable devices should be explored and considered. 

The Years 3-6 teachers have noted the limitations of iPads: 

• Difficulty researching and switching between tabs.
• Recording information - while possible on an iPad, it’s not an ideal setup for students. 
• Not all websites and resources are compatible with iPads or best suited to iPad use, for example, Canva.
• Storage and accessibility of work.
• Students are not receiving the experience of typing on a full size keyboard which means students are going into high school without appropriate typing skills.

A set of 30 school laptops has been available to Years 4-6 for class use, but they are slow to load and log in. Chromebooks boot up in a matter of seconds, an attractive feature within the classroom setting, especially when compared to laptops.

Due to limited IT personnel to service and respond to technical issues and to streamline the classroom experience, MTS has restricted the number of device makes and types to one single device. Once the transition from iPad to Chromebook is complete, Chromebooks would be the only device for BYOD.