Student BYOD program

Why BYOD?

By embracing the BYOD program, we are committed to preparing our students for a future where technology plays an integral role in both professional and personal spheres. It is our goal to equip our students with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in an increasingly digital world.

A BYOD program helps students learn better using devices they know, prepares them for future school and jobs, makes lessons more fun, teaches responsibility, allows learning anywhere, encourages teamwork, enables seamless learning from school to home, gets students ready for online tests and supports different learning needs.

BYOD does not imply constant device usage; rather, it allows teachers to incorporate the use into the students learning, making lessons more interesting and interactive at times, which helps students stay motivated and focused.  This might include, but not limited to, using digital textbooks (i.e. math), online tools, educational apps and online research. Learning activities can be customised to suit different student needs within the same class.

Purchasing a BYOD device

We understand that selecting the right device can be challenging and overwhelming due to a vast array of choices available on the market. To support parents, our school has partnered with two suppliers to offer suitable laptops, ensuring they meet the right functionality and specifications to last at least three years at school.  The advantage of purchasing these laptops is that:

Reasonable Pricing – The laptops are competitively priced for the quality and functionality to last the school day.

3-Year Warranty – Unlike most laptops which come with a 1-year warranty, these offer a full 3-year warranty with on-site support, meaning technicians can assist you at home or school for warranty issues.

Flexible Payment Options – Options include AfterPay or Finance (HP only)

Accidental Damage Insurance (Only available through HP) - This is different to warranty. If you have a car and you smash a window, you can’t claim on warranty however if you have comprehensive insurance you can claim for the damage. Accidental Damage Insurance offers similar insurance on damage without any excess payments. If you are concerned about your child damaging their device, this option offers peace of mind for any potential damage.
Note: This option is only available after purchasing your HP laptop, Expect to receive an email from HP three or more days with instructions on how to purchase the insurance.

Discounted Accessories – Cases are available at around $50-$60 and are highly recommended as essential protection for your laptop purchase.

We currently have  2 - 3  laptop choices from each supplier that meet all our criteria. Please refer to the supplier brochures for more information and how to purchase:

1. Shady Solutions - Brochure

2. HP - Brochure

Minimum device specifications

If you are buying a device for your child, you can use the checklist below to guide your decision on which device to bring.  Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you are looking to purchase a device and would like advice if it is suitable.

* Please note that the below are the minimum specifications. Anything above this will mean the device will likely function better for your child and last longer as software updates over time and needs more space and resources.
Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you are looking to purchase a device and would like advice if it is suitable.

Click  here for a printable version  to take shopping.

Specifications:

• A 2-in-1 device (this will ‘flip’ to a tablet and allows students to draw/write easily)

• 64 Bit processor, minimum Intel i3 (Gen 11) or AMD Ryzen 3 (better if a higher spec)

• 16GB RAM recommended

• 256GB recommended (Solid State Drive - SSD), absolute minimum 128GB

• Screen size 11” – 14”

• Keyboard, for typing (i.e. not a tablet device)

• Touchscreen (active pen compatible)

• Active pen (for drawing/writing in class)

• USB-C Charging

• Ability to connect earphones/headphones

• Minimum battery life of 8 hours

• Lightweight, under 1.5 kg

• Heavy duty case for protection in school bag (highly recommended)

• Mouse (optional)

• Warranty: consider how long this is and how long to expect from the laptop you are purchasing. Check what type (i.e. on-site repair or do you need to post it for repair)

• Highly recommended: Windows 11 (NOT S mode)

• Optional: Accidental Damage Protection (ADP)

Notes:

• We recommend strongly you do not purchase a Chromebook, Android Tablet, or an iPad.  We have found that these devices lack the ease of use and integration with other technology in our classrooms and often results in students feeling frustrated with their device.
• We request USB-C charging, as these are chargers we have at school, so will be able to assist with charging laptops from time to time.
• Please do not provide Internet data (via smart phones or 3G/4G dongles), as GHS provides secure (child safe) Internet at school via the WiFi.
• Note that your child receives FREE Microsoft and Adobe software, so there is no extra to purchase other than the computer above

Student software

Note that Windows 10 & 11 includes built-in virus scanner (Windows Defender) and there are many good ones available for free for personal use.

Software available to students:

Microsoft Office 365 - Word, Excel, Powerpoint and many more. Microsoft Office 365 is normally preinstalled on all Windows laptops.  If not, it is also available to download from the students’ MS 365 Portal.

Creative Cloud Suite - Adobe Acrobat DC, Photoshop, Illustrator and many more...
Adobe products can be obtained by students when they login at  https://creativecloud.adobe.com/  and follow the instructions.

NOTE: Adobe licences are only available to some students.  Teachers will arrange licences for students if there is a requirement.

Guides explaining this step by step are located in the student’s Sentral Portal

Information and help on setting up BYOD laptop

We hope this is helpful for you with your new laptop. We have tried to make the technical information as easy as possible, and provided links to additional information that you may need to read and/or follow.

• It is recommended to read everything below before starting your setup.

• We will assist with the final setting up of school related software/accounts at school.

• If you have any issues, we can assist at our Drop-in BYOD Tech Help session (29 January 2026 1.00–3.30pm).

In essence, there is more than one way to setup a laptop and you need to make a few decisions along the way.

Here is a summary of the decisions before you start.

1. Which type of user account will I use to log on with? Microsoft account or Local account?

2. Will I have a separate administrator account?

3. How will I use the Microsoft Family Sharing? If you use a Microsoft account, you are required to attach a parent/carers’ personal Microsoft account to the student Microsoft account (as they are under 18).

Our recommendation is that your new laptop has at least two accounts, one for administration (i.e. Parent) and one for daily use (Student). This provides the basis for better security and the ability for parents that wish to have a bit more control over the laptop.

The daily use account is where schoolwork is done. It is where our students store their schoolwork in the department provided applications such as Microsoft Office 365. This cannot be your child’s student account (see Page 2 for more information).

The administrator account is the control mechanism for allowing which software is installed and tweaking security and safety settings. Note that by default, the first account that is created/logged in on a new device is an administrator account (so the order of logging into the laptop matters).

User Account Setup

The choice here:

a. A personal Microsoft account which uses an already existing personal email address (most preferred)

b. Local account (more difficult to setup and has other pitfalls such as less data security, but you don’t not need to provide personal details to Microsoft such as your name, phone number and personal email address).

A quick note here, if you are happy to have a personal Microsoft account, this is the easiest option for laptop setup. In this case, you do not need to read the information below regarding accounts as your laptop will guide you to login in with your existing MS account or will guide you to create a new one. Go straight to Page 3.

Page 2

Accounts

What is a Microsoft Account?

A Microsoft account is an account that you create with Microsoft. This is the most straightforward way to set up your new laptop. The account can use any email address you have. For example, your child may already have a Gmail (name@gmail.om) or Outlook (name@outlook.com) email that you can use. Or you can just go and create a new email from these websites (or many others that offer free email). The main thing is that you need to have access to the email account (its email).

Having a Microsoft account has some security features and benefits, but for some people it is a privacy issue (as you are creating an account and giving your details to Microsoft). It will also require that you as parent have your own Microsoft account (i.e. Hotmail etc).

Our students will login later (and ‘activate’) Office 365 with their school Microsoft account (not the one you create), but this is different to your own Microsoft account. It is your choice whether you use a Microsoft account for your login.

NOTE: you should have an individual account for each family member (multiple people can still log in to one laptop with their own accounts). Using a parent’s Microsoft account at school can be complicated and can mix family information up (i.e. in OneDrive).

What is a Local account?

A Local account is one which only exists on your laptop. You can only use it to log into that laptop. This is great if you want to keep your information private.

If you do create a Local account, there is also an option to change this to a Microsoft account if you change your mind down the track.

It is not obvious (at all!) how to create a Local account when you get a new laptop (Microsoft make it hard to get around), so below this section are links with instructions on how to do this.

Can I use my child’s school email account to login?

No, this is not recommended as locks the laptop and account to the Department of Education network and you may have issues as a result of this (i.e you and GHS can’t install software). Your child’s school email account is in the format firtsname.lastnamenumber@education.nsw.gov.au. While it is possible to set up your laptop for ‘Organisation’ use and use your child’s school login, it is not recommended as you have a personal laptop and should use a personal login.

You are much better off with a personal email account for login (or if you feel you do not want a Microsoft account at all, a Local account). Using a school email address is also limited as a Microsoft account, as you they will only have this email address while at school, it is better to have a personal one that you can keep.

For further information on the above, here is a link:

Local vs. Microsoft Account - Pro's and Con's (https://www.digitalcitizen.life/should-you-use-local-or-microsoft-account-windows-10/)