Information for Parents of Year 3 Students in 2025
Why do we teach with iPads?
iPads help us to differentiate, to give instant feedback, to collaborate and to engage students:
- Differentiation: Specific apps help us to provide structured lesson content for students with different learning needs, this means the teacher can spend less time delivering new content and has more time for personal assistance.
- Instant Feedback: Devices provide a way for students to receive instant feedback from their peers, their teacher and even from themselves after reviewing personal recordings.
- Collaboration: Moderated discussion gives ALL students time to process and respond to questions posed, it’s no longer a hands up race. Anywhere access to shared learning resources allows students to reach beyond the classroom.
- Engagement: Digital Devices offer exciting new ways to do things that were previously impossible. Students can now code interactive presentations to demonstrate their science knowledge, these presentations can ask for audience interaction and adapt based on responses.
What do we use iPads for?
What is BYOD?
“Bring Your Own Device” for Stretton Years 3-5 is an iPad:
- The iPad is a consistent platform for student & teachers, iPads have high minimum device standards, this means they are not out of date quickly.
- The iPad's AirDrop feature is an excellent fall back in case students experience any internet issues, students are still able to submit work to teachers.
- Android devices span many different brand and have with many different operating systems, system hardware variances and vendor specific quirks.
- iPads are sturdy, easily placed aside and start up immediately as needed.
- Students work better with, have more respect for and view their device as their own personal gateway to learning. We can leverage this attachment to their personal device.
- This year 96% of students in Years 3-6 brought their own device.
What does Stretton Provide to Support BYOD?
- Office 365 licence that you can use at home to access:
- Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook and OneNote.
- Access to 5000GB OneDrive to save school work on though to grade 12. That is 3,683,090 floppy disks!
- Access to the QLD State School’s ebook Library.
- Access to the virtual classroom through our Seesaw Learning Platform.
- Access to Mathletics.
- Access to out Clickview Library Video Servers.
- Access to our Online Library resources (Oliver).
- Robust Wi-Fi coverage across the entire Gowan Campus.
Below is a map of the main applications used and how they change as students move through the year levels:
Purchasing
- Let Apple know you are from Stretton State College
for their education pricing and free training.
- OfficeWorks, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman & others often offer 10% off on Apple, if you see 10% off t’s a good time to purchase.
- Refurbished (online only) / renting iPads / is an option.
- Interest free is also available from many retailers.
Normalisation of Technology
- Children need be familiar with the technology that is commonplace in our world today.
- Technology is not a treat.
- iPads are not replacing how we teach, but they do allow for new opportunities in the way we teach.
- iPads allow for very fast content creation.
- The world is changing rapidly, 11 years ago there were no iPads, and these days desktop computers and USB drives are rarely used!
The Dangers of Technology
We all need to be aware of the dangers of technologies in order to use them most effectively:
- Substitution - There's no point using the iPad to complete something we can do just as well in other ways. We use only devices when they are the best fit for the task and offer genuine pedagogical advantages.
- Misconception of “game mentality”
- Devices are often seen as games machines, with effective and responsible use they can be recognised as a powerful tool by our young learners.
- Creators Vs Consumers
- We all have a choice when we use technologies, to create or to consume, the correct choice leads to effective use of our time.
- "Airplane mode" classroom vs overuse
- We don't want to pretend technologies don't exist, nor do we want to overuse them.
- Devices are not a reward nor are they removed for poor behaviour (they way they are used can be modified), it is important that eLearning tools are seen essential to everyday schooling.
- It’s our job to teach students when it is appropriate to use technology and when it is not.
- Students wont understand technological etiquette unless we all teach it and live it
- Technology timeouts and technology free days are a great way to set boundaries at home and at school.
- Students know that technology can be a distraction
- We need to help them to do somethign about it.
- Eye Strain - 20-20-20 rule. It's easy to remember. Every 20 minutes, they simply take 20 seconds to look away from the screen and focus on an object 20 feet away.
Learning Expectations
We have devised a list of "BYOD Learning Expectations" that we expect of our students, We walk through these together at the start of the year and have our students sign them. We do this to avoid any confusion on what we expect. These expectations are regularly revisited throughout the year.
- These expectations are based on our experiences and the experiences of other like schools.
- There are some non-negotiables, we know that we will get what we tolerate, we want to set the bar high.
- We see these expectations as essential to the success of our BYOD program.
Apple Classroom
The Classroom App built into iPads empowers teachers to support student access to online learning quickly and effectively. Apple Classroom allows teachers to view their student’s iPads, to guide students to the correct apps, to push out links to resources and to temporarily lock students into or out of an app or website. Apple Classroom can only be used to guide learning for students in the immediate vicinity of their teacher.
With Classroom, student iPads can only be managed in class and no personal data is stored after a lesson has finished. Teachers and students need to be in close proximity (Bluetooth range) and be connected to the same school network for Classroom to work. A teacher cannot manage or view student devices outside of class, connections are automatically dropped when students leave the physical classroom. To ensure transparency when screen view is active for a student’s screen in class, a notification at the top of their screen indicates that Apple Classroom is active. A student may access details of the specific teacher viewing their screen in settings on their iPad.
It is important to note that:
- The apple classroom system only works when students and teachers are on the same wireless network AND within Bluetooth proximity to the teacher.
- Students need to actively opt in and agree to a classroom connection every time it is used.
- At the end of the lesson, a class summary details time spent on each individual app - This data is only temporarily available and is not saved to the teacher’s iPad.
- Teachers cannot secretly monitor devices; students must opt in and a blue in blue indicator shows when the teacher is monitoring their screen.
- Teachers cannot see, transfer or retrieve any files stored on a student’s device.
To review Apples Privacy policy, please visit: https://www.apple.com/au/privacy/
For more particular information about privacy and security for Apple products in education please visit: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT208525 and https://images.apple.com/education/docs/Privacy_Overview_for_Parents.pdf
Installing Applications
- All devices need to have the applications from the Year 3 App List installed. 2025 App lists will be available later in the year.
- Applications can be shared amongst your family, keep an eye out for iTunes voucher special offers. Many stores often have 20% off gift cards, this is a great way to save.
- The Year 3 App list this year was around $26, a reduction in Booklists helps offset this cost, this drops significantly after Year 3.
Device Security & Safety
- iPads are required to stay in school bags before and after school.
- You must have a pouch to store your ipad in to protect it and a sturdy case goes a long way to ensuring it remains working for a long time.
- iPads are locked up in the classroom at lunch time and when the students are out of class.
- A stolen iPad cannot be used properly by anyone else if it linked to an Apple ID.
- We strongly encourage you to consider accidental damage protection, it's often easy to add the device to home and contents insurance.
CyberSafety
- We strongly encourage
parents to take the time to setup Family Sharing and to enable parental
controls so that you remain in full control of the device and are
confident in what and when your child can access. Watch our instructional video here:
- At home, parents need to be the master of their own home Wi-Fi network that can provide internet to the device.
- If you are not sure how to do this then it's great practice to “forget” the Wi-Fi network on the iPad once your child is finished using the internet at home, this will not interrupt network access at school.
- Year 2 students are learning about information sharing in class right now
- We have timetabled a dedicated BYOD transition lesson time-slot for all year 3 classes.
- Our teachers regularly discuss our “Learning Expectations” with their class.
- Cyber Safety Session sare held each year for our students.
- Please visit the eSafety Parent website here:
QLD Gov eSafety Parent Website - School TV is an amazing resource that Streton provides for our community based on facts! visit the site here:
Stretton SchoolTV Website
Our Website
The BYOD portal on our website will always containt the latest information for our BYOD program.
Teaching with these new technologies gives us the ability to change our students from consumers of technology to creators of solutions.
We believe this best prepares them for a future in this ever changing world.