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Dear Parents and Guardians,

This site is designed to give you updated information about the IT requirements and resources that are required for students when starting the 2025 school year.  

Students in 2025 are encouraged to bring two devices to school. The primary device is a laptop that will serve as the student’s “main” computer, while the secondary device (a smartphone or tablet) will serve to capture learning and access to digital content subscription services. Consequently, the primary device will be used for prolonged work while the secondary device will provide them with high levels of usability, flexibility, and mobility. The primary and secondary devices increase the digital workspace available to students and allow them to work more effectively. Different workflows and activities are possible as a result of students having both a primary and a secondary device available at school and on the field. An example use case of the secondary device is to record/photograph scientific experiments.

Please see Device Information for device limitations and recommendations.

Regardless of which combination of primary and secondary devices is chosen, each device must have a minimum battery life of six hours. We encourage students with devices that are older than 12-18 months to obtain a battery replacement if the battery power does not last six hours. If battery life is still a concern we encourage students to also obtain a portable power bank to charge their devices.

Tablet PCs or convertible laptops that utilise a stylus are now readily available and affordable. The hardware and software for stylus interaction has matured considerably in the past couple of years, and there are many opportunities for students to make use of stylus driven computing in their learning, for example note-taking, annotations, diagrams and maths equations. While not compulsory, we recommend that you consider a stylus-enabled device if you are purchasing a new laptop.

By using the primary device alongside the secondary device, your child will use digital resources provided by John Monash Science School, the Department of Education and Training and Monash University. It will support individual learning needs and interests by allowing them to type, interact with learning objects and capture video digitally. This mode of learning will also allow them to engage in collaborative learning groups within and external to the school through the use of high-speed networks.

Please take note of the information located in the frequently asked questions and key dates pages.

You are welcome to send questions to helpdesk@jmss.vic.edu.au.