Information Technology

Montmorency Secondary College understands the importance of technology in education and participates in a laptop program. In 2024, Year 7 students will transition from iPads to laptops. In 2024 and 2025, Year 8 and 9 students will be offered the choice of continuing to use their iPad or changing to a laptop at a time that suits them. Students in Years 10 to 12 will continue to use laptops.

The laptop program creates a collaborative digital learning environment that supports both student learning and innovative teaching practices.

The College itself has a powerful, school-wide  Wi-Fi network, with comprehensive student access to printers.

All students are required to have an iPad. The College does not have a preferred iPad supplier and parents are free to choose a supplier that meets their needs. The College does not provide any insurance for lost or damaged iPads. Parents should investigate their own options, particularly their home and contents insurance. Some policies, for a small increase in premium, will cover iPads and this is usually the most cost-effective option. The College will do its best to accommodate a range of iPad models.

The preferred models are as follows:

  • iPad Pro (all models)
  • iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
  • iPad (5th generation and later)
  • iPad mini (5th generation and later)

Students need to ensure that they have a robust case for their iPad. This is very important as student iPads will inevitably will be dropped and if they land on a corner the screens will break. Students will need an iTunes account or at least a shared family account.

We require that the find my iPad application be enabled. Students will, from time to time, be required to purchase apps. These generally are low cost. Sometimes it will be possible for the College to purchase apps at the education price and pass the savings onto to students.

Applications for the iPads are easily obtained via the App store and the College will provide a list of required applications. Currently the Department of Education and Training (DET) have developed a portal for students to use to download software that has system-wide licensing.

Students are required to have either a tablet or a laptop computer for use in class. These could be Apple or non-Apple devices.

The College does not have a preferred supplier for Laptops and parents are free to choose a supplier that suits their needs. Typically, suppliers have good stock of laptops and because of price fluctuations with all technology, buying a laptop a long way ahead of time that is actually needed is unwise. Devices will need to have a keyboard and good battery life.

Smaller laptops (less than or equal to 13 inch) would be preferred from the perspective of portability and weight. They must be connectable to the DET Wi-Fi network at the College.

Unfortunately, at this stage, we cannot support Android operating systems. We prefer macOS, iOS or any Windows 10 System. Tablet computers, Microsoft Surface Pro, would need a keyboard and a robust case. The College requires that devices (particularly laptops) have virus protection software installed. DET provide this software for free and we will install it if necessary.

The College generally views the use of technology as a tool to aid learning and is focussed on the outcomes rather than the software used. We recognise that computers and tablets are used in a variety of ways and no one method is the only one. Students bringing devices to school are bound by our Internet and Cyber-safety policies. They must agree to abide by our rules before they can be connected to our network.

Technical Specifications:

  • Macs: Any Mac laptop under 3 years old. Must be capable of running macOS 11.5 also known as Big Sur.
  • PCs: Any laptop capable of running Windows 10. (Intel or AMD Processor, 8 GB RAM and an SSD would be a good starting point.)