Acceptable Use
At school, Bishops intends iPads to be used in CLASS only. Usage will be under the supervision of a teacher and for learning and teaching purposes only.
What we expect from our boys:
- embrace all the positives that iPads have to offer
- behave appropriately when working on iPads and the Internet
- never access, keep or send anything that they would not want their parents or teachers to see
General school rules for behaviour and communication will apply to our iPad programme. Misuse of the iPad will be treated as a normal disciplinary issue.
Embracing 1-to-1
The iPad is a device that offers multiple tools to support learning and teaching. It provides a platform for
- Active engagement
- Participation in groups
- Frequent interaction and feedback
- Global connections
While children are working in the classroom the teacher is able to walk around the class and engage 1-1. Notes and resources are available anytime, from anywhere.
Internet Access
How you choose to handle internet access will depend on your personal circumstances. Our recommendation is that young children are not given access without parental supervision / permission.
Some suggestions include:
- have an open door policy i.e. no internet behind closed doors
- install a ‘Kid Safe’ browser and only allow internet access via this browser
- password protect your home WiFi
- lock access to the App store with a pin code
Personal Ownership vs School Ownership
Bishops deliberated about the best fit for our environment, recognizing the pros and cons of each model. After much consideration, Bishops decided against the model of school ownership. Instead, we opted for the model where the boy’s iPad belongs to him and is personalized by him.
This model puts the responsibly of bringing an installed, working, charged iPad to school on the family. The school’s responsibility is to provide the infrastructure and teaching.
| Parent Responsibility | School Responsibility |
|
|
Bishops does not offer iPad support and maintenance or connectivity to the App Store. Our preferred reseller, Digicape, supports our iPad programme and offers loan units to parents who have purchased their iPad through DigiCape.
Screen Time
At school, Bishops intends iPads to be used in CLASS only. Usage will be under the supervision of a teacher for learning and teaching. At break, ipads should be locked in the lockers provided. Although in many instances the iPad will replace the textbook as a reference resource, the intention is that ‘normal’ reading and writing will still take place. Bishops has introduced a timetabled homework period with the intention of offering boys the opportunity of completing their internet based tasks at school e.g Mathletics and Reading Eggs.
Guidelines for general computer usage apply to iPads too; regular breaks should be taken.
Entertainment screen time should not exceed 2 hours per day. To help our boys make wise media choices, it is advised that parents monitor their sons’ ‘media diets’.
Here are some suggestions:
- encourage outdoor play, reading, hobbies and free play
- limit engagement with entertainment media to no more than one or two hours per day
- be aware of what your son is doing / watching
- be selective and limit entertainment media to high-quality content
- adhere to ratings for movies and games to avoid exposure to inappropriate content, such as violence, explicit sexual content or glorified tobacco and alcohol use
- establish “screen-free” zones at home – no televisions, computers or video games in children’s bedrooms
- turn off TV and cell phones during dinner
- limit WiFi and cellular data access at home
- limit cell phone usage