Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is an initiative implemented at Frederick Irwin Anglican School to allow students to embrace a personalised learning experience at school and home. The program allows students to bring their personal technology devices into the school to assist with achieving their learning aspirations.

Supported technologies include laptops running Microsoft Windows or Apply OSX operating systems. Other devices such as Apple iPads and android tablets may work; however, deficiencies in the functionality and usability of these devices make them unsuitable for use as the main device used in the classroom, and will therefore not be permitted. Note: Laptops running Windows 10/11 S Model will need to be switched out of S mode before they can be used at school.

The table below provides details on the minimum and recommended hardware specifications for devices intended to be part of our BYOD program. It is essential that your child's device meets these minimum specifications to ensure an acceptable level of performance while at school.

Considering that your child will likely use the device for various activities beyond school hours, it's important to factor in these non-school related functions. This ensures that the laptop can deliver an acceptable level of performance for both school and additional personal activities.

(*) The BYOD program will operate exclusively over the School’s wireless network, there will be no access provided over the School’s wired network. The support for the 5GHz frequency band is essential to ensure optimal use of the School’s wireless bandwidth. Network adapters must support 802.11abgn and PEAP authentication. Care should be taken if purchasing a device to ensure that the 802.11a 5GHz frequency is supported.

(**) Solid State Drives add significant performance increases to computers and extend the battery life.

(***) Windows 10 S – Windows 10 in S mode limits the ability of students To Install Software Which Is Not From The Microsoft App Store. This May Restrict The Functionality Of The Device Whilst At School And Is Therefore Not Recommended. It Is Recommended That Users Switch Out Of S Mode.

• Windows Based Devices – Any Windows device running an Intel i3 or equivalent processor should work as a BYOD device. When considering using an older style laptop careful consideration should be given to the battery life, wireless networking and weight of the device, older larger laptops may successfully meet the minimum specifications for performance but fail the equally important criteria of extended battery life.
• Apple Devices – MacBook Pro, MacBook Air are both suitable as BYO devices, however as mentioned previously iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch are unsuitable as primary devices to be used at school. Once again if considering an older MacBook please confirm that the device meets the minimum battery life requirement.

• iPad, iPhone, iPod and Smartphones – Due to the difficulties in navigating the user interface on devices with small screens or which are incapable of supporting the addition of a mouse, devices such as iPhones, iPods, iPads and Smartphones are not permitted as the primary device to be used at school.
• Android and Chromebook Devices – The large array of android devices available on the market has meant that only limited testing has been performed against a small subset of possible devices. At this stage, we are recommending against selecting an android tablet as a primary device for students at school. As in the case of the Apple iPad the device may be configured and used as a secondary device whilst away from school.