Other FAQ's

Can a student do anything that they want with their laptop?

The simple answer is no. All laptop use, whether at home or at school, must be within the terms of the College's Acceptable Use Policy. This means that students would need to be aware of requirements for copyright for the storage of music and videos and community standards for the access and storage of inappropriate material. This policy would be signed off on by both the student and parent on delivery of the laptop. In the event of inappropriate use of a laptop in the home environment, the College, in consultation with the parents can restrict the functionality of the laptop. The College will also support parents with tips about effective strategies for managing laptop in the home.

A two-barrelled question really. Even though they have laptops, students will still be required to be required to do some handwriting. However, the laptop will be used to do a lot more in the writing process, the creating, editing and revision of the text. Research has shown that one-to-one laptop programs have had a positive impact on writing skills.

What impact will it have on handwriting and writing skills?

It will be important that students are able to type effectively. A touch typing tutor will be installed on each laptop and students will set and work towards targets throughout the year. It is best not to think about handwriting as a lost art-rather think in terms of it being supplanted by another form. Much like email has supplanted but not replaced regular mail.

Why not net-books?

Net-books are the smaller cousins of laptops. Whilst they can run basic applications and can be used to access the internet, they do not have the capabilities of a powerful laptop computer. The College believes that for effective learning, the laptop should provide students with access to powerful design and creation tools. Students should be able to create and manipulate graphics, multi-media and video as part of their learning and should not be limited to a smaller, less powerful sub-set of applications.

Can I use files from a Windows computer?

The most common files that people use are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat. The good news is that these programs run on both the Apple and Windows platforms. Microsoft Adobe and many other software developers produce compatible programs for both platforms.