Learning in a digital age is no longer restricted by time, place, space, or pace. As technology is everywhere, all the time, and integral to life and learning, schools need to adapt to empower students. There is an increasing need for students to access external learning content, collaborate with others in their educational pathway, and be proficient with the use of computer technologies.
Deception Bay State High School understands that technology is a tool that enhances teaching and learning experiences, allows for the creation and sharing of knowledge, and allows students to learn at their own pace. The use of technology is more than a method of searching for information. As a school we have a responsibility to prepare our young people for the future world that they enter into.
BYOxLink Requirements
Participation in the BYOD program is highly encouraged for Year 7 and Year 8 students and mandatory for those in Junior Extension, and Years 9, 10, 11 and 12. This program requires students to bring a suitable device that meets the minimum specification requirements. Subject choices and interests should be considered when deciding what laptop (or any upgraded hardware components) to buy. Some subject specific software may require upgraded specifications or a particular operating system. Further details can be found in the BYOxLink Parent Handbook (PDF, 1.1MB).
IMPORTANT: CHROMEBOOKS, ANDROID, LINUX & iOS DEVICES ARE NOT SUPPORTED.
Recommended Device Specification
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Device Type/Operating System | Windows 11 or MacOS 10.15
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Screen Size | 11-inch or larger
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Memory (RAM) | 8GB RAM
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Storage (SSD) | 256GB SSD
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Network (Wi-Fi) | 802.11n 5Ghz Wireless
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Battery | Minimum 6 hours
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User Account | BYOxLink onboarding requires the student to have Full administrator access on their laptop, additionally we recommend using a local user account as some Microsoft account services are blocked within the DET network.
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Students that do not have access to a device may be eligible to apply for a school equity laptop to accommodate their learning requirements. Applications will be available early 2025. Contact the IT Manager if you have any queries: lmere21@eq.edu.au
Device Purchasing Portals
Deception Bay State High School has worked with vendors to offer a range of devices and purchasing options for parents. Devices offered on these portals meet the school's minimum specifications.
Extended 3-year warranty and on-site repairs can be packaged with some of the offered devices on the portals. The school does not endorse or recommend any particular brand of device and parents are free to purchase from any vendor/retailer of their choice.
Software
The Department of Education has negotiated volume licensing arrangements and/or discount programmes available for a variety of software programs and applications required over the course of their high school learning.
Any other software installations are the sole responsibility of the student or parent. Valid licenses are required for any software or media present on your device. Deception Bay State High School takes no responsibility for any penalty or legal action resulting from copyright infringement action due to unlicensed software or media present on student-owned devices.
Microsoft Office 365
All state-school students from Prep to Year 12 can download the Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus suite using their Department of Education email as a Microsoft account at zero cost to students/parents, to home PCs and MacOS devices, and to BYOD laptops. The Microsoft Office suite as provided by the Department of Education is mandatory to use and download due to the use of shared features which are restricted to only be opened by student accounts. You are not required to purchase your own copy of Microsoft Office.
For PC and Mac, visit the Office 365 Portal login using your school email address, click through to install and follow the onscreen process.
Adobe Creative Cloud
Deception Bay State High School maintains a limited number of annual licenses for Adobe Creative Cloud Applications. Students in curriculum classes that require access to these software packages will be provide access at the commencement of their subject. During the course students can download and use Adobe Creative Cloud applications for free on 2 personal devices.
Windows 10/11 S mode is a version of Windows 10/11 that's designed for increased security and performance but restricts the user to only installing apps from the Microsoft Store, and requires Microsoft Edge for safe browsing. As the onboarding process includes the installation of Department network utilities we are unable support laptops restricted by S Mode.
In order to onboard the students' BYOD they will be asked to switch out of S Mode and upgrade to Windows 10/11 Home or Windows 10/11 Professional, this is a free upgrade. Please refer to Microsoft support document to switch out of S Mode prior to connecting your device to school network -
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/switching-out-of-s-mode-in-windows-4f56d9be-99ec-6983-119f-031bfb28a307
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