About BYODD

Programme Information

What is BYODD?

BYODD stands for Bring Your Own Designated Device for learning at both home and school. At MacKillop Catholic College, the designated device is an iPad.

All students in Years 5 to 11 will have an iPad as their core Information Communication Technology (ICT) to support learning at school and home. The iPad’s compact design, long battery life, accessibility, ease of use and functionality make it an ideal tool to facilitate learning in an information-rich environment.

Why BYODD at MacKillop?

To support the development of 21st century skills
To further engage students in personalised learning
To increase access to technology for students in a suitable manner
To increase student skills in ICT

Why iPads?

MacKillop Catholic College trialled a number of devices to determine which would best suit our school and our needs. After much consideration and research iPads have been chosen as they address many of our requirements.

These include:

iTunes offers significantly more apps for education which have been tried and tested by teachers around the world.
iPads offer flexibility and portability of learning.
iPads are very user friendly and provide learning opportunities for all age and abilities levels.

21st Century Education encourages students to create, communicate, collaborate, critically think, problem solve and explore ideas beyond the boundary of a classroom. The iPad helps to facilitate this, along with other applications such as Google Apps for Education.

iPad's As Standard School Equipment

Parents of students in Years 5 to 11 will provide an iPad for the students as standard school equipment. Sets of iPad's will be available for student use in Kindergarten - Year 4. Subjects with specialist ICT requirements will have access to technologies designed to address specific learning requirements.

To ensure compatibility, performance and reliability, and based on our experience over the last two years:

iPad's supplied by parents must have a camera and be able to run the most current iOS version.
Parents can decide whether to supply a 64, 128, 256GB iPad. We strongly recommend a WiFi only model to reduce the cost and ensure internet traffic goes through our network services while at school.
We strongly recommend purchasing an extended warranty (AppleCare Protection Plan) and a robust case that will minimise potential damage.