PARENT GUIDE BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE (BYOD)
Our Vision “Empowering & enriching lives for future success” Our Mission “Our mission is to create world class learning experiences that recognise and nurture empathetic, resilient and talented individuals.” Our Values Kindness, Honesty and Respect 2
Our Vision Educational activities Suggested devices per Key Stage Minimum hardware specification Additional guidance CONTENTS 3
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Technology is an essential part of education at The British International School Abu Dhabi and therefore parents are required to ensure that their child has a suitable learning device in school. To be able to live, learn, and work successfully in our information-rich society, students must be able to utilise technology effectively. Many students’ lives today are filled with technology that gives them access to information and resources, enabling them to pursue their interests in their way and at their own pace. The opportunities are limitless, borderless, and instantaneous. BYOD, or Bring Your Own Device, is the practice of allowing students to bring their own mobile technology devices to school. It allows students who already own devices to use them at school for educational purposes with the permission of the classroom teacher. Devices will not be used in every lesson and will vary dependent on the curriculum area and year group of students but there is an expectation that all students from Year 3 to Year 13 should have a suitable device with them in school every day. The school will provide access to tablets for younger year groups (below Year 3) when appropriate to learning outcomes. OUR VISION Our vision is to empower and enrich students’ lives for future success. We want to develop modern, adaptable, and forward-thinking students, and the purpose of this guide is to encourage freedom and flexibility to all families and students in their choice of technology so students can work in a safe environment. Students should use technology to enhance their learning journey and become more confident in technology in life beyond school. Effective use of devices and digital wellbeing is encouraged and promoted throughout all aspects of school live at The British International School Abu Dhabi. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES Student devices will be used for a range of educational activities to support teaching and learning in and out of school. Some of the activities are listed below, but please bear in mind this is not an exhaustive list. Updates to software will be communicated with you via our Firefly platform / student portal when appropriate. • Microsoft Office 365 (free access for 5 devices is given as part of the student portal). • Adobe Creative Suite (free access is given as part of the student account details). • File storage and sharing using One Note and Teams. • Access to video and audio recordings to support learning. • Computer programming in Computer Science lessons. • Accessing Seesaw for teachers to monitor and assess children’s learning. • Additional applications or software may be needed (as per the student portal), to support class activities and learning. 5
SUGGESTED DEVICES PER KEY STAGE We have invested heavily in our infrastructure to create a fast and reliable network, everywhere in school. Our whole school digital strategy team is working hard behind the scenes to ensure BIS Abu Dhabi is at the forefront of advancements in technology and what this may look like for our students. Year Device Needed Nursery Provided by School FS2 Year 1 Year 2 Personal devices are not required for students in EYFS and those up to Year 2. Class tablets will be provided when appropriate and when they enhance teaching and learning. Year Device Needed Year 3 Tablet Year 4 Tablet Year 5 Tablet/Laptop Year 6 Tablet/Laptop Tablet devices are required for students in Year 3 to Year 4. We have a hybrid model in Year 5 and in Year 6 to aid transition into Secondary. If your child currently has a tablet then please feel free to continue using this, but if this needs to be replaced, please replace with a laptop. Nursery to Year 2 (EYFS – Key Stage 1) Year 3 to Year 6 (Key Stage 2) Year 7 to Year 13 (KS3 – IB) Year Device Needed Year 7 Laptop Year 8 Laptop Year 9 Laptop Year 10 Laptop Year 11 Laptop Year 12 Laptop Year 13 Laptop Tablet computers are not appropriate for use in lessons and to encourage the holistic education of all members of the community, the use of a laptop in higher years enables the key skill development and software usage to prepare students for their future pathways.
Our use of technology is completely focused on learning throughout the school by allowing our students to use technology as a powerful tool to express their understanding in different and exciting ways. Technology is not to be used as a replacement but as an enhancement of teaching and learning. MINIMUM HARDWARE SPECIFICATION Most of our students already have devices that they bring into school to enhance their learning. Of course, recent events have led to a great improvement in the IT skills of all our students and we intend to ensure that our students embrace new technologies at every opportunity. When you are in the process of purchasing a new device, we have listed some guidance below on the minimum hardware specification we would recommend. Device Type Minimum Specification / Hardware needed Tablet Minimum 8” screen size IPAD OS14 or higher* / Android 8 or higher 64GB storage or higher Detachable physical keyboard Stylus pen * This would be our preferred tablet choice Laptop Laptop with a physical keyboard (Windows or Mac OS) 12” screen Intel Core i5 processor (or equivalent) 8Gb RAM 256Gb storage 6-hour+ battery life Please note: A mobile phone is not considered a suitable learning device. Students are expected to turn up to school with fully charged devices. Although we have sockets in school, these are not always easily accessible in lessons. ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE Students will have access to a safe and secure Wi-Fi whilst using their own device. We have a robust monitoring system in place and focused PSME lessons on the appropriate use of digital devices and the Internet. Safeguarding measures have been updated which include the nationally recognised online safety initiative. We have a dedicated team of IT technicians who can support with any issues relating to access to our systems, but any hardware issues must be fixed outside of school. Whilst every care is taken to ensure devices are safe, ultimately it is the student’s responsibility to ensure these devices are cared for, and the school are in no way responsible for devices whilst at school or the maintenance or upkeep of the device. It is imperative that adequate insurance coverage is in place to cover the cost of repair/replacement of any devices in the event of loss or damage. It is recommended that the serial number of the device being used is documented. 7