eLearning

At Whittlesea Secondary College, we use a suite of effective online learning tools to provide a highly engaging learning program for our students. All software platforms are selected and designed to make our learning and student wellbeing transparent so parents and caregivers can see how their students are achieving through continual application of positive attitude and growth.

We encourage you to explore our e-learning pages to learn more about the digital learning opportunities we offer.

For any additional support, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our elearning team through our eLearning Team.

Digital Technologies at Whittlesea Secondary College

All students at Whittlesea Secondary College need to have a computer as a basic tool for learning. Having access to a device in class enables students to lead elements of their academic and vocational growth, collaborate with their peers and access resources in ways that reflect 21st Century standards. Having a device to use and maintain also helps to develop a student’s sense of responsibility. Some advantages of having a device at school include:

Developing digital literacy skills relevant for future learning and engagement
Students can access necessary resources online to support learning
Supporting effective online collaboration

Our aim is to make this as easy as possible. Parents or guardians of students entering Year 7 require a device that will last them until at least the end of Year 10. Students entering Year 10 are likely to have to upgrade their device with consideration given to the electives and learning pathways that may require additional processing power (eg. digital imaging and videography, CAD/CAM, and Computing).

Whittlesea Secondary College supports parents and guardian in their choice of device. We offer comprehensive IT support for all PC based devices. Parents or guardians can choose to:

1. Bring their own device that meets our minimum specifications

2. Purchase a device through Learning with Technologies

Click here to purchase a device

BYOD Specifications

Parents may decide to purchase or lease through our preferred supplier ‘Learning with Technologies’, purchase from a 3rd party, or utilise a device from within their own family. Whittlesea Secondary College can then provide:

Free software including Microsoft Office365, Adobe CC. Please allow 24 hours for the installation of this software^
On-site technician support (software and connection to wi-fi network)
Access to free Wi-fi#
Access to temporary laptop if student’s laptop requires repair (loan laptop is PC only)*

Purchase through Learning with Technologies

Purchase through JB HiFi

JB Hi-fi Code: WHITTLESEA2024

Specifications

Windows Laptop Specifications

Minimum specifications:

Intel Core i5 CPU or AMD Ryzen 5
8GB RAM
256GB SSD
13.3”+ screen
Windows 10

Recommended specifications:

Intel Core i5 CPU or AMD Ryzen 7
16GB RAM
512GB SSD
13.3”+ screen
Windows 10/Windows 11

Apple MacBook Specifications

Minimum Specifications:

Retina display with True Tone
1.1GHz dual-core 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor
Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
Intel Iris Plus Graphics
8GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X memory
256GB of SSD storage
Magic Keyboard
Touch ID
Force Touch trackpad

Recommended Specifications:

Retina display with True Tone
Apple M1/M1 Pro/M2 Chip
MacBook Air or MacBook Pro
7-core GPU or more
8GB+ Memory
256GB of SSD storage
Magic Keyboard
Touch ID
Force Touch trackpad

Students are additionally advised to have their own protective laptop case or bag, headphones and a cordless mouse. In the interest of health and safety, laptop bags should be compact as possible to prevent posing as a tripping hazard in the classroom.

^ Participation in BYOD program assumes parents and students agree to the WSC BYOD policy and software agreement in order to receive DET operating system and/or free software. A copy of the WSC BYOD policy will be made available on the college website.

# Participation in the BYOD program assumes parents and students agree to the Acceptable Use of Digital Technologies Agreement. Agreement is available on the college website.

* Student must lodge repair issue with IT office and provide copy of repair receipt. Temporary laptop loan is for a maximum period of 10 schools days. Extensions to loan periods may be negotiated upon confirmation of repair period.

Laptop Imaging Process

Short Term Loan Laptop Application – https://forms.office.com/r/trcrbas3mp

(No longer required for students, who will be starting from 2023)
All PC-based BYO devices are imaged with software for a variety of reasons relating to servicing time, network access, software licensing, Department of Education requirements and meeting our legal obligations. An explanation of the aspects related to these reasons is provided below.

School Licensed Software
All static software licensed by the Department of Education cannot be installed on family-owned devices. However, in the past this could be overcome by imaging a family-owned device with an operating system linked to the school’s server. This allowed schools to generate a managed workgroup and profile for the duration the student was enrolled at the school. Upon graduation or exit from the school, the laptop could then be reset and licensed software removed.

In the last few years, many of these licensed titles (Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite etc.) have now migrated to cloud-based subscription models. These cloud-based products or Software as a Service (SaaS) now allow the department to make software available to students using single-sign-on (SSO) accounts based on their school-based email address. Naturally, as students graduate or exit from the school, access to their email accounts and software can be restricted. As we progressively move towards using more of these platforms, we will begin to phase out the imaging process. Until this time, the additional points below will continue to validate our use of imaging student devices.

Servicing Time
The installation of software requires both time and network bandwidth. The process of imaging laptops with all software in one hit greatly reduces both the installation time and the strain on the school’s wireless network. For example, the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite has a total installation footprint of up to 20Gb. If even a small number of students self-install this software, our wireless network would be reduced to a crawl, impacting all students using that wireless access point. In comparison, the imaging process allows us to install a fresh version of Windows Professional, Adobe Creative Suite, Office 365 and other software within 20-30min without affecting the wireless bandwidth.

Technician Support
With the variety of laptops and their configurations available on the market, it’s difficult to provide technical support for them all. By imaging laptops, we provide a comprehensive technical support program for the device. However, when we provide a wireless certificate, we are only obligated to ensure access to the wireless network.

Frequently Asked Questions

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From 2020, all subjects will deliver their content through an online learning management system or LMS. The LMS will provide students with an online classroom that’s accessible 24/7.

For teachers, it will allow them to assign individual learning for each student based on their learning needs and performance. It also provides real-time results and feedback from teachers. This means that students will have multiple opportunities to demonstrate and achieve mastery.

School Licensed Software

Servicing Time

The installation of software requires both time and network bandwidth. The process of imaging laptops with all software in one hit greatly reduces both the installation time and the strain on the school’s wireless network. For example, the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite has a total installation footprint of up to 20Gb. If even a small number of students self-install this software, our wireless network would be reduced to a crawl, impacting all students using that wireless access point. In comparison, the imaging process allows us to install a fresh version of Windows Professional, Adobe Creative Suite, Office 365 and other software within 20-30min without affecting the wireless bandwidth.

Technician Support

With the variety of laptops and their configurations available on the market, it’s difficult to provide comprehensive technical support for them all. We only provide a wireless certificate, we are only obligated to ensure access to the wireless network.

Legal Obligations

Whittlesea Secondary College is mandated by the Department of Education to meet its policy and legal obligations. This includes the following areas:

Bullying Prevention and Response
Cybersafety and Responsible Use of Digital Technologies
Duty of Care
ICT Infrastructure Backup and Recovery — Schools
Information Security — Infosafe
Intellectual Property and Copyright
Mobile Phones — Student Use
Personal Devices — Access
Photographing, Filming and Recording Students
Privacy and Information Sharing
Social Media Use to Support Student Learning
Child Safe Standards

It is important to note Whittlesea Secondary College will not be held accountable for any loss or damage to a device; it is recommended that families take out a private insurance policy on the device.

How will BYOD and digital learning be integrated into the school's learning program?

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Is there anti-virus software available?

Installation of anti-virus software is highly recommended. Microsoft has Windows Defender as the default, which is our preferred option. A full scan is required before students connect to the WiFi.

How should BYOD devices be labelled?

Please do not engrave devices as this may void warranty conditions. It is recommended that devices have a clear label and device cases with the student’s name. Any peripherals such as a mouse or pen should also be labelled.

What if the device breaks?

A temporary device may be borrowed from the school. Students will need to ensure they have logged their device in for repair with the college IT department.

What about safe internet use?

Appropriate use of the internet is closely monitored by a filtering system which allows content blocking by an automatically updated list of categories and sites. Teachers, students, and parents/guardians share the responsibility to ensure safe and responsible use of devices at all times.

How will data stored on the hard drive be backed up?

Students take responsibility for backing up their data. Data should be backed up to the student’s OneDrive cloud account. Each student has 1TB of storage space on the cloud. It also ensures that student has access to their files from any wireless hotspot.

Will students submit work online?

From 2020, the majority of student work will be submitted online through our LMS. On occassion, there will be a need to submit physical products or demonstrate a particular skill. It is a student’s responsibility to ensure they submit work before the due date. Device failure or lack of back-up should will not be accepted as a reason for late submission.

Will there be charging stations available at school?

Devices should be charged fully at home, as charger cables can trip people in the classroom and are easily lost at school. We advise that devices, phones, tablets etc are charged overnight ready for the next day. Make it part of your family ritual to pack the schoolbag and plug in devices the night before school. Where practicable, and where safety permits, students may charge their devices at dedicated charging stations.

Will these devices support coding, robotics, and related technologies?

Many of the inspiring technologies available today will be able to connect with these devices. If the technologies we are engaging with require specialist tools beyond your device, we will generally provide these.

What is the lifespan of the device? When would we need a new one?

Most devices has a 3-4 year life span, at which point software begins to outdate the hardware. Some things that may improve the lifespan of a device are: mindful physical care and handling of the device; add RAM or replace the battery if possible; protect the screen and shell by using a carry bag or hard case; and shutting the computer down once a day.

Will there be no more writing?

We are keen to support our learning with new opportunities wherever possible, but fully intend to also support learning with reading from books and writing with pens as well. We are aware that the world is changing and we want to support our students to embrace change with support and guidance.