BYOD stands for Bring Your Own Device. U of D Jesuit high school students will be able to use their own device as long as it meets certain minimum requirements, listed above. There is no one machine or operating system that is preferred over another.

One-to-one means each high school student is required to have a technological device consisting of either a laptop, tablet, or Chromebook.

If there was a ‘best’ device we would not have selected a Bring-Your-Own-Device Program, we would have gone with this mythical ‘best’ device. We believe any device that meets our requirements and recommendations will work fine for our students. When selecting a device families should consider:

Familiarity: You and your student will need to keep this device running, pick a device with which you are familiar.

Reliability/Ruggedness: You know your student, if he has a history of being hard on devices than pick a more rugged device and case for him. Also we recommend for all devices being purchase new that you add a three year breakage warranty.

Battery Life: This is especially important for Windows Laptops/Tablets, please make sure your device has a 5-6 hour battery life.

Cost: You know your family budget, devices vary widely in costs and a good device, like our recommended Acer Chromebook, is very inexpensive.

Currently WiFi is available to students - if your son is not already signed up, he can obtain a form here. Your son will be provided access to the school's WiFi network, with parent permission. All high school students will be required to participate in the school's WiFi program.

A web filter on the student WiFi network currently does restrict access to web sites deemed inappropriate by the school.

The issue with cell phone coverage is due to the school's walls that block cell phone signals and there is really nothing the school can do to improve the coverage. The school's WiFi does, however, cover all working areas of the school building and there is no issue with the school's WiFi network or signal.

Academic departments at U of D Jesuit review and choose to utilize E-books as well as hard-cover books in their classes, depending on availability. In the school's experience, which includes an extensive conversation with a number of Jesuit high schools who have already switched to One-to-One programs, the school book market is currently in a transitional phase. E-books are offered in a variety of formats with a range of costs and purchasing methods. It is the school's goal to increase the availability of E-books, and we already have some offerings available, but full availability may take several years. The school's book purchase process will include specific information on courses where E-books are available, allowed, and/or required.

Our students live in a digital world. Their academic lives, through undergraduate (and, for some, graduate) school will include digital distractions; their work lives will as well.

We believe it’s important for students to learn to use their devices not just for entertainment--at which most students are already very adept--but also as tools for research, enquiry, and analysis. They can only do this by using devices, at appropriate times and on activities specified by the teacher, inside and outside the classroom on academic work. Unfortunately, there is a risk of distraction that comes along with this. We believe it’s better for students to learn to navigate this risk in high school, where parents and teachers are still very involved, before the additional freedoms of college. In the Student Toolkit to Success Workshop we teach students techniques to manage this distraction.

Some students or parents may want a technological solution to cut down on distraction; we have researched a list of Apps to Prevent Distraction on different devices.

The primary application for our One-to-One program will be Google Apps for Education. Your son currently has a Google Apps account through his U of D Jesuit e-mail address. If he needs assistance accessing this account, please have him stop in the Library or the Technology Office (Room 115), and we will provide him assistance. It is possible that additional apps will be added the curriculum, but there are no specific additions planned at this time. For most student work, students can use other programs, such as Microsoft Word, Libre or Open Office.

U of D Jesuit has Technology Help Desk staff on site from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also, U of D Jesuit trains students as Student Help Desk support staff in order to assist other students with technology issues. Students can visit the Technology Office or Student Help Desk on the first floor of the main building or visit the help desk website for assistance.

Assistance will be provided by our new student help desk (students helping students) as well as by the staff of the school's Technology Department. Support will be available for the following:

• Accessing the school WiFi network
• Printing at school
• Assist with Google Docs and other mandatory apps
• Assist with school approved E-books
• Support will not be available for:
  • Hardware
  • Operating Systems
  • Personal Applications

There is not a short answer to this question. The school has used Open Office/Libre Office with our students for many years. We also make Microsoft Office available in classrooms, so that students can develop a presentation in Power Point and be certain the presentation will work. The school adopted Google Apps for Education a number of years ago as our cloud tool. It is well supported in the education community and provides many powerful features that benefit our students. Our choice of BYOD means we are open to student choice and Google Apps for Education works well in a BYOD environment.

The school has Chromebooks available as loaner devices to assist students whose device is temporarily out of service. A loaner permission option was including in the online summer forms to allow a student to participate in the loaner program. If you didn't grant permissions as part of the summer forms you must submit a Student Loaner Device Authorization form to allow your son to participate in the loaner program.

As part of our planning process for the One-to-One BYOD program, we have and are giving consideration to the financial challenges of our families. To assist families we are working to reduce book costs through the use of ebooks and in house developed materials. Further information on assistance is available from our Financial Aid Office.

Please note Comcast will also provide reduced costs Internet access for families in need. For more information see their Internet Essentials web page.

The school holds mandatory four hour technology orientation sessions for 9th grade and transfer high school students in the summer. Each student will be required to attend one of the four hour sessions and will be expected to bring their device to the session. These sessions will provide students with information and some basic instruction to assist them in starting the year prepared and organized with their new device. Further details regarding these sessions is shared each year with the families of incoming students as they approach.

No, writing will still be a critical part of the learning process and used to prepare students for standardized tests.