1. Does my son/daughter have to have a Chromebook or could they use a different device e.g. an iPad or laptop?
Chromebooks are our recommended device for parents to purchase. However, if your son/daughter has a laptop which meets the device specifications this could be brought to school as an alternative. After exhaustive testing we have found that iPads are not conducive to the high level of productivity needed at high school level. Chromebooks and laptops are more robust than tablets and students using tablets this year have found it difficult to complete work, particularly when documents need to be edited or long reports need to be typed. Chromebooks and laptops are more ergonomically suitable for use for long periods of time and have a USB-port which allows a mouse or external hard drive to be connected.
2. What are the specifications that the device needs to have?
A Chromebook or a laptop are the only devices suitable for use by Year 9 students from 2016 onwards. The specifications are listed in the the devices section of this website.
3. What kind of security e.g. lockers are on offer during interval and lunchtime if students do not want to carry around their device?
Students have the option of checking in their device during interval and lunchtime in a“coat-check” style system at Student Services. A number of our community are concerned about the security and safety of equipment in learning areas in the school such as Physical Education. As an example the Physical Education department have fitted lockable cupboards with individual cubbies for student bags and devices - the cupboard is locked at the beginning of the period and unlocked at the end. There is no student or other unauthorised access to this facility.
4. What kind of internet safety education is on offer at school? For parents?
Currently all students have access to the school Wifi and there have been no issues with this. There is an extremely strong firewall/filter which is constantly updated to ensure the safety of all students. All Year 9 students complete a Digital Citizenship unit. A large part of that unit of work will be around how to stay safe online and behave as a positive digital citizen.
5. What kind of financial assistance is available to purchase a device?
We have negotiated a reduced purchase price with Noel Leeming, New Lynn, who are our preferred provider of Chromebooks. A number of purchase plans are available. We are also working with the WINZ managers of all our local branches who will be aware of our BYOD plans and will work with parents who receive WINZ support. If there are concerns regarding finance please contact your Year Level Dean or Sandy Begg to arrange a meeting and the school will doing everything necessary to equip our students.
6. Will I still have to buy stationery or workbooks?
There is an expectation that stationery costs will be reduced. However, students will still need to come to school with paper, pens etc. as it is blended e-learning, i.e. a mix of traditional and e-learning pedagogy occurring in class.
7. Will students do all their work on a device or will they still need to write in exercise books etc.?
This depends on the subject, teacher, lesson etc. Students will need to have exercise books, pens etc. along with their device as it is blended learning, i.e. a mix of traditional and digital pedagogy occurring in class.
8. Will students store their work on the Chromebook/device?
Depends. A Chromebooks are connected using the student's unique GBHS Google Account. Students will be accessing and storing documents using Google Apps which stores and saves documents automatically online - however - work can be saved offline on their device as necessary.
9. Does that mean that I need internet access/wifi at home to do homework/assignments/study?
Not necessarily, although it would be extremely beneficial. The Chromebook does have enough memory capacity for documents to be downloaded and worked on offline. Students could download the documents they need for homework while at school, work on them without being connected to the internet and then they will be automatically uploaded online when they log onto the school wifi the next day.
10. What if my Chromebook breaks?
If you have bought your Chromebook from Noel Leeming, New Lynn and the breakage is covered under warranty, you may be provided with a loan device from Noel Leeming while the device is being fixed. As the documents the students will be working on are cloud-based (i.e. not stored on the device, but stored on the internet) they can just log into any Chromebook with their student details and access their work. The school also has a cache of Chromebooks it can loan if there is downtime between the device failure and it's subsequent repair. Please see Student Services regarding a loan device.
11. What if the battery runs out during the day?
Part of being a positive digital citizen is ensuring that a device has a full battery when students arrive to school. Fully-charged, a Chromebook’s battery will last for 6-9 hours, depending on usage. By turning down the screen intensity you can reduce the amount of energy that your device uses during the day. It is the responsibility of students and parents to ensure that devices are fully charged before a student arrives at school. This being said, if a student has exercised all of their responsibilities, is demonstrating the behaviours and attitudes of a positive digital citizen and they still need to charge their device - as long as it is reasonable and can be accommodated then charging in class is permitted on a case by case basis.
12. What if my Chromebook breaks during the day?
The school has a number of Chromebooks available to loan to students through Student Services.
13. Won't my device be very heavy and increase the weight of my bag?
As there is an expectation that there will in a reduction in the use of workbooks, the answer to this question is no. Chromebooks are lighter than most workbooks so we hope that your son/daughter's school bag will in fact be lighter!
14. Why Blended Learning?
The New Zealand Qualifications Authority are working towards having all NCEA Level 1 external exams (equivalent to the old School Certificate exams) online by 2020. All students will need to have high levels of traditional and digital literacy skills in order to be able to access these exams and achieve to their full potential.