Harmony Primary School MacBook Program
Intro and FAQ
Harmony Primary School has implemented a program in which parents of children in Year 5-6 have the opportunity to purchase a MacBook to enable students to have access to a greater variety of learning experiences whilst at school.
This program has been extremely successful and families of students currently in Year 5 are being invited to participate.
Under the Western Australian Curriculum, it is expected that students learn to use technology effectively and appropriately to access, create and communicate information and ideas, solve problems and work collaboratively in all areas at school. Our 1:1 program allows our teachers to individualise the learning program, allowing students to develop increased independence and self-initiated learning as well as to extend their learning beyond the classroom.
From what year do students participate in the 1:1 MacBook program?
The 1:1 MacBook program is for students inYears 5 to 6.
How often will it be used?
The nature of the 1:1 laptop environment is that students will have their MacBooks with them and available for use throughout the school day. This does not mean that they will be used in every lesson. Like other learning tools, the use of MacBooks will depend on the particular learning activity and this is at the discretion of the teacher. MacBook activities will blend with others such as writing, reading and discussion and students will find that their use of MacBooks will vary from day to day depending on the learning focus. Students will continue to be taught all of the basic skills of handwriting, spelling, etc.
Specific technologies lessons will occur throughout the week with students using the MacBook to access the learning in these lessons. Year 4 students will initially focus on developing key computer usage skills and then progress to using the program Scratch for coding activities. Year 5 students will use Lego We Do to create solutions to real world problems and the Year 6 students will investigate circuits. Class teachers then design programs above and beyond these in order to meet the requirements of the curriculum.
Families who do not purchase a device this year but wish to do so in the future will have that opportunity.
Why Apple?
We believe that Apple Products offer a resilient and solid platform for students to achieve a wide range of educational outcomes. Apple support a large amount of appropriate learning tools and allow for creation tasks unmatched by a windows based device in the school environment. In addition to this, they offer great virus protection, long battery life, at home support 6 days per week through Apple Care (ph:133622) and established support amongst the education communities for our teachers.
They are durable and reliable, connect easily to our network, are quick to start up and put away and work seamlessly with our school’s online environment. Staff at Harmony have also developed considerable expertise in troubleshooting these devices. This means more time engaged in learning and less time trying to make the tools work.
Why not iPads?
We use iPads in the junior school to great effect but as students get older they need the functionality of a full computer in order to be able to develop the required skills. Some advantages of the MacBook over the iPad include but are not limited to:
- Larger screen- Less concern over eyesight and posture related issues
- Built in Keyboard- Increased capacity to develop appropriate keyboarding skills
- Ability to print off and share documents with ease
- All devices have the same base image which includes a range of applications. There is no need for parents to purchase a multitude of different apps for classroom use (The Apple apps in the iWork and iLife range are free for all purchasers of new devices and are downloaded through the user’s own iTunes account) Instructions on how to do this are readily available online with some further information at the end of this document.
- Students can now access the Office365 package provided by the Department of Education. This is difficult to use on an iPad.
- Comes with flash player, USB slot and SD card slot (depending upon version) for uploading and downloading as required
- Internal memory allows documents to be stored locally. In a school setting, if all students are attempting to access documents from the cloud, the drain on internet bandwidth can be very high and in many cases will exceed the allowance provided by the Department, rendering the devices unusable for upper primary level tasks
Can our child bring something other than a MacBook?
No. To maximise the effectiveness of our program a common device is essential. This will ensure that your child’s device has compatibility with school systems, other class devices and learning programs. It also allows our teachers to plan activities and projects knowing that all students will have a device capable of completing the task.
The school has spent considerable time investigating this from an educational perspective in consultation with other experienced educators and the School Board and has determined that the MacBook best suits our educational needs.
Will my child have to share their MacBook with other?
No. Students with their own device will not be expected to share with other students although they may choose to do so.
Is there a fee from the school?
The school has a small number of machines available for students without MacBooks to use on a shared basis when the work cannot be completed in a pencil and paper format. A fee will be charged for this service.
Please note that the same contributions and charges sheet goes out to all families across the school and not all fees will apply to all students. For example, Year 4-6 students do not use the school iPads so will not be required to pay the iPad usage fee, students with their own MacBook do not pay the MacBook usage fee.
What about moving to high school?
Students continuing to Atwell College will be able to use their MacBook in Year 7 and beyond.
What about extra screen time?
Some concern has been raised in the past about the increase in screen time that use of MacBooks at school will create. There is a great article from the eSafety Commissioner about this topic: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/big-issues/time-online
Please also see Appendix A, Making the Most of Your Child’s Laptop, prepared by an Occupational Therapist, specifically for our school.
What about cyber safety?
The school shares responsibility with parents, governments and the community to protect our children from the impact of inappropriate material on the internet. A student usage policy and parent agreement is signed at the beginning of each year. A primary school classroom is an ideal protective environment to teach students safe and effective internet use and cyber safety before high school.
We recommend that all parents take advantage of the free parent information sessions on CyberSafety presented annually by Paul Litherland. He discusses ways in which parents can assist their children to be safe users of technology and the internet. Each year Year 4 students attend sessions run by the Life Ed Van and Year 5 and 6 students attend school sessions with Paul Litherland.
What if something goes wrong?
Due to our experience with these devices, the school is aware of many of the most common issues affecting the MacBook and can resolve many of these onsite. Students simply need to bring their MacBook to the office in the morning, fill in a form and come back after school to collect their device.
Parents who have purchased AppleCare also have access to their telephone service (133622) to support them at home. A number of parents have told the school that they have been pleasantly surprised to discover that their children have enough knowledge of the device and program being used to complete any required work without technical assistance from their parents. This is also a fantastic opportunity for students to develop their problem solving skills.
Students may also call AppleCare themselves to get assistance with quick how-to questions about the iLife and iWork applications.
We already have a MacBook that we purchased independently, can we bring that?
Yes. We simply ask that it can comfortably keep pace with current software updates and is set up so that its primary purpose is for school.
What machine do I buy?
Harmony Primary School has partnered with Winthrop Australia in offering a Parent Funded 1:1 MacBook Program. Through Winthrop, parents will have access to a choice of two discounted MacBooks. Purchasers receive the special educational rate on the device.
Parents are able to have a look at the ordering portal via this link https://sales.winaust.com.au/shop/harmony at any time to inform themselves about machine specification, insurance, etc.
Apple is expected to release new machines around October 21st and Winthrop update the devices available through the ordering portal accordingly.
The 256GB machine has more than enough memory for our purposes at school, however the option is available to purchase a device with more memory capacity should you so choose.
Optional extras: AppleCare, Portable hard drive, carry case, MacBook cover, Insurance
Please go to the ordering portal here for further information.
Please note also that there is no requirement to purchase through this link. Families are welcome to source their device from any provider and second hand machines are more than able to be used.
Do I need the Portable Hard Drive?
We strongly recommend purchasing an external hard drive to back up the MacBook with the Apple Time Machine application. This automatically backs up the entire Mac including all files, applications, accounts and preferences. Time Machine also keeps a spare copy of every file and remembers how the system looked on any given day- so you can revisit the Mac as it appeared in the past. This is not the same as using an external hard drive to transfer a copy of documents. The hard drive should be kept in a separate location to the MacBook itself.
Please see www.support.apple.com/en-au/HT201250 for information on how to use time machine.
Do I need the insurance?
In the unfortunate event of accidental damage, theft or fire, Harmony Primary School recommends that parents purchase the optional 3 Year ProtecSure Insurance as a way of safeguarding the machine from costly repairs/replacements. The excess on this policy is currently $150.
This insurance means that should a student’s MacBook require insurance replacement or repair, this process will be arranged through the school without the need for parents to take the machine to Apple themselves. Parents will need to bring the device to the front office and sign the form generated when the issue is reported to Winthrop. Warranty issues on machine purchased through Winthrop will be arranged through the same process whether insurance has been purchased or not.
Families who choose to source their own device are encouraged to add it to their home insurance policy.
Access to Wifi and Programs
Students will be given a Connect username and password at the beginning of Year 4. They use this to access the school wifi on their device.
Apple provide free access to their iWork and iLife programs and students may also utilise the Microsoft suite for free. Please do not purchase these for an extra fee if buying from an independent retailer.
Parents may wish to install all of these programs but there is no urgent need to do so. Class teachers will let you know which are needed for the learning program.
Please see Appendix B for details of the programs to install. They are all free when downloaded from the correct link. The school is unable to install these programs for you as they must be connected to each individual child’s device. Class teachers are also unable to assist with the installation of these programs. Please contact AppleCare 133‑622 or Harmony administration for advice.
How do I set up the device?
We recommend that children are set up as an administrator on their account and that parents are very careful not to set stringent parental controls over the devices. This can cause a lot of frustration at school level if for example, a child’s device has been set up to only be on for three hours in the day and they use it for 30mins and 9am, put it in sleep mode (recommended) and then try to use it again at 2pm. They will simply be unable to complete the class work.
We also encourage all parents to create a separate administrator account for themselves so that they can log in and reset their child’s password should the need arise. The school does not have any administration rights over the child’s machine and so is unable to assist should a password be forgotten.
How do I find out more?
A parent information session will be held early in term 4. More information will be sent out prior to the event.
Please communicate directly with Mrs Robinson on 6174 6600 or email Jennifer.Robinson1@education.wa.edu.au with any further questions.
Macbook Applications and Programs to Download onto Student Devices
All of the following applications are FREE when accessed from the correct website.
Applications that can be downloaded immediately:
iWork: Pages, numbers, keynote: https://support.apple.com/downloads/iwork
iMovie: https://support.apple.com/downloads/imovie
iBooks Author: https://www.apple.com/au/ibooks-author/
Applications that can be downloaded:
Microsoft Office: The Department of Education has given all students FREE access to this software.
Students access this here and sign in (link in the top right hand corner of the page) using their portal username (firstname.lastname) and password. Teachers will give students their password details and these can be used to download the apps to their machines (recommended) and allow them to work with the offline version.
Students access the school wifi using the same log-in details.
Please remember that not all programs will be required immediately although you may choose to install them. Class teachers will inform you which are needed for school. Teachers are unable to assist with the installation of programs.