eSchool Program overview
-
1:1 school-owned and managed iPads for all students.
-
Students in Yrs 4-6 are encouraged to take these iPads home during term time.
-
Students have access to a broad range of other ICTs including chromebooks and lego robotics, and maker space resources such as wearable technologies, electronics and prototyping materials.
-
Students enjoy high-speed filtered internet and high-density high-bandwidth wifi across the campus.
-
As well as supporting the general curriculum, the Good News eSchool program specifically supports four key themes: Digital Technologies, Digital Citizenship, ICT as a General Capability and STEM.
1:1 iPad program
Digital Technologies
Digital Technologies
The Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies was officially endorsed in 2015 and is now beginning to be implemented in all schools across Australia. Good News Lutheran School is well down the track to implementation, with all students from Prep to Year 6 now being taught and assessed using this contemporary curriculum.
Our teachers understand that as our world becomes increasingly digitised and automated, there are a new set of skills and understandings that will be critical for students to fully engage in this world. Through planned learning experiences, we aim to help students to move beyond being just consumers and users of digital technologies to creators and designers of their own digital solutions.
As designers and creators of digital solutions, students develop curiosity, confidence, persistence, creativity and cooperation. They develop important computational thinking skills that help them solve problems in Digital Technologies and in other subjects. They consider how their designs and solutions might solve problems within our world and are hopeful about the future as they are empowered to make a difference through creative digital solutions.
We are excited about the possibilities that this new curriculum area has opened up for our students.
ICT General Capability
ICT General Capability
The Australian Curriculum is underpinned by a set of seven “general capabilities” that are considered essential for student success. One of these capabilities is the ability of students to be effective and efficient users of technologies. Rather than being taught as a separate subject, students develop knowledge, skills and dispositions about using ICT through all subjects.
The ICT Capability has five interrelated elements that are developed as students use technology in their learning. Often skills and understanding are explicitly taught to ensure that all students can be confident and competent users of technology, but students will practice these important skills and apply their understanding across many different learning opportunities.
Digital Citizenship
Digital Citizenship
A digital citizen refers to a person who has the knowledge and skills to effectively use digital technologies to communicate with others, participate in society and create and consume digital content.
Digital citizenship is about confident and positive engagement with digital technologies. By educating students about digital citizenship, they will have the opportunity to develop an understanding about the following concepts:
-
digital and information literacy
-
internet safety
-
privacy and security
-
cyberbullying, relationships, etiquette and communication
-
creative credit and copyright
-
digital footprint.
STEM
STEM
STEM refers to the subjects of Science, Technology (as in Digital Technologies), Engineering (known as Design and Technologies) and Mathematics being taught in an integrated manner. This way of learning about these important subjects reflects “the real world” more closely than teaching content and skills for different subjects in isolation.
In a STEM project or unit, students are usually trying to solve a problem that is connected to a real-world issue. They see themselves as young scientists or future engineers as they work together to discover and create solutions.
During STEM, students still need to be taught specific content and skills for specific subjects; however, instead of learning content by rote, they develop a deeper understanding of concepts through investigations and problem solving. The style of learning activities may change from more teacher directed to student centred as the investigation progresses and students moving from simply understanding content to applying this knowledge in context.
Yrs 4-6 iPad take home program notes
We recommend that each student in Years 4-6 take their eSchool iPad home each evening. There are a number of positive reasons for this process, including ...
-
learning responsibility / self-discipline in the care / maintenance / usage of a device in a home environment
-
consistent process for completion / creation of assigned work / homework
-
additional time to edit and revise projects with familiar tools
-
extension / reinforcement of skills such as coding, video editing
-
access to filtered internet (via VPN - see below)
-
opportunity for parents to view / review student work
-
strengthen home-school connections
However, we recognise that this may present challenges for some families and while we would like to see all iPads go home each day, students in Years 4-6 will be allowed to leave their eSchool iPads in the classroom if parents wish that to occur. This could be on an ad-hoc basis or permanently. If parents do choose to leave the iPad at school, please note the following important points ...
-
all student work still needs to be completed and submitted on time
-
not all tools / resources required to complete assigned work are available in our Microsoft, Google or Apple clouds, or on the internet - some will be iPad only
-
the eSchool iPads need to be charged each day
-
there will be a limited number of chargers in each classroom
-
each student will still receive a take home charger which will need to be returned at the end of each year, or upon leaving the school
-
Parents will need to advise their child’s class teacher if they want the iPad left at school.
Even if the eSchool iPad does not go home, we would still encourage the following ...
-
set clear expectations around the usage of digital devices
-
set clear time and location restrictions
-
set up a regular device charging routine in a centralised location
-
conduct a regular digital discovery tour of student devices
-
provide vigilant supervision of digital activity.
Behaviour Expectations During Zoom Virtual Meetings and Other Online Activities
-
Students are not to use the school iPad to participate in any Zoom conferences (or other online chat forums) that are not set up and authorised by school staff.
-
Place the iPad safely on a table.
-
Ensure the camera angle and background maintain privacy.
-
Wear suitable clothing.
-
Stay muted unless it's your turn to speak.
-
Be sensible in the way you act on screen.
-
Ensure all comments and gestures are kind towards others.
-
Avoid side conversations, fiddling or working on something else while participating in the session.
-
Refrain from eating or drinking during the session.
-
Make eye contact by looking into the camera.
-
Show others you are listening by nodding your head.
Caring for the iPad at Home
Students need to be careful using and carrying the school-provided iPad. While they are enclosed in a Military Grade protective case, they are not immune from damage if dropped, hit or crushed. If damage occurs, the students will need to email the IT Manager as soon as possible.
-
Keep the iPad away from liquids, including drink bottles.
-
Do not overload when carrying the iPad and other items.
-
Never leave the iPad on the ground or on the edge of a table.
-
Never place heavy or sharp items on top of the iPad.
-
Keep a secure grip on the iPad when using it away from a flat surface.
-
Use gentle fingers when clicking / pressing buttons.
-
Be gentle when removing headphones, using extra care.
PBL @ GNLS
Use the iPad subs app to find student usernames and passwords
If the student iPad is missing any usernames or passwords, use the subs app to find what they might be. Most commonly, the Google or Apple accounts need to be re-authenticated after any major updates.