One to One Device Program FAQ

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What is included in Kingsway College’s One-to-One Student device Program?

  • Access to a more dynamic curricular experience
  • Use of a Chromebook
  • Spare Chromebooks for quick exchange
  • GAFE: Google Apps for Education
  • Onsite technical support
  • Wireless network access in every classroom, the dorm, cafeteria, chapel, administration building, KFC, and grounds
  • Internet content filtering
  • Student training on the use of the Device and software

What is the cost of the entire program?

  • The cost of the entire program is included in the One Fee.

Who owns the device?

  • The school owns the Devices. Students will need to return the device at the end of each school year.

Why aren’t students allowed to bring their own laptops/tablets?

  • In order for this program to succeed, it requires specific hardware and software configurations on the students’ computers. It would be impractical for the school to manage the variety of computers that the students might bring to the school, and attempt to keep them up to date, and protected. In addition, the teacher would have a very difficult time instructing the student without uniform tools. The success of the program depends on hardware/software simplification and unification in order for teachers and students to focus on their curricular objectives, instead of dealing with technical issues due to incompatibilities and variations.
  • Kingsway College’s IT Department cannot support and repair a device that the school does not own; we cannot install school owned software on a personal computer; and we cannot ensure that a personal laptop or device would have the features needed in each classroom.

CAN I BUY THE Chromebook ON MY OWN? I FOUND A BETTER PRICE SOMEWHERE ELSE.

  • The price that the school is charging is for participation in the program, not just the device. The device is a critical and significant portion of this cost. The school has solicited competitive bids in an effort to minimize the financial requirements of the program. The prices that the school has obtained cannot be found in any retail sale arrangement. The entire package of hardware, software,  warranties, accidental damage insurance, onsite support, spares, etc. cost much more than any individual purchase of a computer. The school enjoys the benefit of educational discounts in hardware and software, as well as bulk purchasing discounts.
  • Kingsway College purchases the devices on a volume basis that includes warranties, software, etc. at a discount level that is greater than what you would receive as an individual. Each device also will have additional software loaded that will be needed for each class. These instructional tools will be school owned and purchased at a school level discount. Educational software has three different price levels: retail, single educational price, and school license price. Many of our software programs are purchased at significant discounts because we purchase a school license. If students owned the devices, we would have to purchase software at a much higher price, making the overall cost of the One to One program significantly higher.

Will I keep the same device each year?

  • Yes. It is our plan for each student to use the same device during the 3 year rotation.  However, Kingsway College reserves the right to issue a different device to a student when it deems that it is necessary and appropriate.

HOW ARE THE STUDENTS GOING TO SAVE AND BACKUP THEIR WORK?

  • The students will be able to save their personal school related files to Google Drive. However, we strongly encourage each student use an external USB drive to backup their information.

ARE THE DEVICES GOING TO BE LABELLED?

  • Yes. The devices will have external labelling with the student’s name and an asset tag number, as well as internal labelling for identification on the school’s network. In addition, all power cords will be labelled.
  • Since the students will keep the same device, we will also permit personalization of their devices within appropriate boundaries. Nothing should be placed on the device that is permanent.

HOW ARE THE STUDENTS GOING TO BE TRAINED IN THE USE OF THE DEVICES AND ASSOCIATED SOFTWARE?

  • Kingsway College will offer a “Device Boot Camp” to our students the first week of school. We expect that our students will have minimum training needs because they adapt very easily to this technology.

WHAT KIND OF SECURITY IS THE SCHOOL PROVIDING?

  • Kingsway College provides extensive security at the network and local computer level. In order for a device to connect to our wireless or wired network, it will need to be authorized by Kingsway College’s IT Department. In order for a user to log into our domain, the user will need to have a domain user account. All internet access is filtered by content filtering that checks for inappropriate content. In the classroom, GoGuardian provides the teacher with monitoring capabilities of the students’ screens and computing actions, as well as granular control as to what the students can access or not.

DOES THIS SECURITY EXTEND TO THE STUDENT’S HOME USAGE?

  • No. The student’s family is responsible for the student’s computing actions at home.

HOW DO I KNOW THAT MY STUDENT WILL NOT JUST PLAY GAMES OR CHAT ON THE COMPUTER DURING CLASS?

  • Besides the internet/network monitoring programs, teachers will have the ability to monitor and control student use of the devices with a program called GoGuardian. This software allows teachers to monitor students and to have the students share their work with the class. In addition, the teacher can allow only certain applications to run on the student’s devices during any given class period.

WHAT ABOUT THEFT OF, OR SIMPLY LOSING, THE DEVICE?

  • If your student loses the device, your family will need to replace it.

WHAT ABOUT BATTERY ISSUES AND POWER?

  • Each device comes with a battery that will normally provide hours of operation. Students are responsible for bringing their devices to school every morning fully charged along with the power cord. The school will have areas where the students can charge their devices, when necessary.

WHEN ARE THE DEVICES GOING TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE STUDENTS?

  • We will be distributing devices during the first week of school.

DOES THE SCHOOL HAVE ADEQUATE TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR SUCH A PROGRAM?

  • Kingsway College currently employs a highly competent IT director with experience managing and maintaining systems. The school is committed to providing any additional technical support necessary in order to make this project a success for the benefit of our students.

WHAT IS GoGuardian?

  • GoGuardian is software that allows teachers to maintain control of the digital classroom and fosters responsible computer use. Features include thumbnail views of student screens, application blocking, URL filtering, central-server design that allows monitoring of hundreds of computers.

ARE THE STUDENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR BACKING UP THEIR PERSONAL DATA?

  • Yes. Kingsway College cannot guarantee any data that students save on their local drives. In addition, any time the device is brought to the IT Department for repair; all data might be deleted if we need to reinstall the entire computer’s image. Students should backup daily on some type of external media, such as USB drives and verify their backups.

HOW CAN I GET HELP CONNECTING MY DEVICE TO MY HOME WIRELESS NETWORK?

  • Kingsway College’s IT personnel involvement with helping families to connect their student’s device to their home network is limited. Since we do not know the configuration, security settings, router settings, and other particulars of a student’s home network, we cannot help. If a device connects to the school’s wireless network, but not at home, then the problem is related to the home’s network setup and is beyond our control. In this case, your best source of support is your Internet Service Provider.