Bring your own device (BYOD)
Students use digital devices at Thorndon to access a range of applications and web based services as part of their learning. All students have access to the Google Apps for Education (GAFE or G-Suite). We mostly utilise Google Drive, Docs, Slides and Sheets.
Year 1-4 students use a mixture of school owned iPads, Chromebooks and Windows desktops.
Year 5 -8 students are also signed up to Hapara, a set of tools that allows teachers to organise, manage and monitor students learning when using the GAFE suite.
Over the last few years our Board has invested heavily in school owned devices for the classrooms. Additionally the school has invested in Mac hardware for the music suite, as a set of tools that is specifically designed for music production.
This level of expenditure will not however take us to the point where we have a school owned device for every child to use. This where our Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy applies.
At Thorndon, we operate a voluntary BYOD scheme for Years 5-8.
Parents can help us to achieve a “one device to one child” environment by purchasing a device for their child to use at school where they can afford to do so.
The school owned devices will continue to be supplied and serviced so as to provide equity for all students, and to act as backup devices for when students have not brought their own device.
In our opinion, as a student is entering Year 5 is good point at which to purchase a device. If cared for, most devices will have a four year life span. This means that purchasing a device for the start of Year 5 should see a child through to high school.
At the end of Year 8, parents can make specific choices about devices, based on the college their child is going too.
While we accept any device that has wifi and a browser, can be used to access the web and the Google tools we use, we recommend Chromebooks. Chromebooks have an affordable pricepoint, are reliable and easy to use for students, and provide the most effective way of accessing the majority of tools we use at Thorndon.
Chromebooks are available from a number of manufacturers at a range of prices. As a school we are currently using Lenovo devices, but other makes and models are equally useful.
Please read and review the policy documents below and once you've signed, please return them to the school office to complete the process.
If you have any questions after reading these documents, please contact us to discuss further.
Thorndon School Bring Your Own Device Agreement
Thorndon School Bring Your Own Device Guidelines
Thorndon School Bring Your Own Device Procedure