Bring Your Own ‘x’ (BYOx) is a new pathway supporting the delivery of 21st century learning. It is a term used to describe a digital device ownership model where students use their personally-owned mobile devices to access the department’s information and communication (ICT) network
The BYOx acronym used by the department refers to the teaching and learning environment in Queensland state schools where personally-owned mobile devices are used. The ‘x’ in BYOx represents more than a personally-owned mobile device; it also includes software, applications, connectivity or carriage service.
In 2016, the College implemented the BYOx program introducing it to Year 10, 11 and 12. In 2017, we opened up the program to Year 7 and in 2018 we will finalise the introduction of BYOx by implementing it across Years 7 to 12 on our Secondary Campus.
What will be available for my student in 2019?
In 2019, students in Years 7-12 have the option to bring their own device from home, otherwise known as BYOx. This will allow them to bring any device that meets our requirements (see further down for more information).
The cost for this program is $100 which covers the connection fee that the school is charged and technical support to assist with keeping the device running.
How do I access the BYOx Program?
In order to access BYOx, please print the form located on the right hand side of this page or pick up a form at the Payments Office. Please read the information carefully, sign to indicate that you agree to abide by the requirements and submit it with the relevant payments to the Payments Office at the College.
What if I can not afford to purchase a device?
One of the main criteria in setting up our BYOx program is that it has to be equitable. Parents who are unable to purchase a device have the option of hiring a laptop daily through the library. Please note, this device is to be kept at school and not to be taken home. The cost for the daily laptop hire is $50 per term. Parents who are experiencing financial hardship can make an appointment with the Principal to discuss options. Daily laptop hire forms are available at the payment office.
How will the College manage internet security and suitable use?
Any student connecting to the College's network will enjoy secure and filtered access to the internet. Students will be required to adhere to the Acceptable Use Agreement when using ICT devices at the College.
Will these devices be kept secure?
Protective equipment such as a bag or case needs to be considered by parents and students to keep their device safe while at school. It is the responsibility of the student to look after the device while at school and ensure it is kept securely in a bag when not in use.
I want to bring my own laptop - What are the requirements?
In order to ensure that the devices that are being brought to school meet our curriculum and security requirements we have established a list of requirements that all devices that are bought to the school must meet.
- Must be a laptop or tablet (no phones)
- Must be Windows 8/8.1, 10 or Mac OSX 10.10 or higher (Android and iPad not allowed)
- Must have current anti-virus software
- Wireless networking (wi-fi)
- Microsoft Office (see Student Advantage Program for a free copy of MS Office for each student)
- Connection fee paid and forms returned
These restrictions are in place for security, technical and curriculum reasons. Any device that does not meet these requirements will not be connected to our network.
Additional recommendations
In addition to the requirements above, the school has the following recommendations for all student devices:
- Minimum battery life of 6 hours (to cover a school day)
- Computer with a minimum 4GB RAM
- Hard Drive size of 128GB or more
- Protective Case
- Onsite warranty (Next Business Day- NBD onsite warranty is strongly recommended if possible)
- Accidental Damage Protection Insurance (ADP) - Check the repair timeframe, next business day if possible is recommended.
- Mac Users - It is recommended that you be prepared to implement a dual boot system (such as boot camp) to enable your student to be able to access Windows on their Mac laptop should it be required. Not all of our programs are accessible on mac.
What do I purchase?
Providing the device meets our minimum requirements, the rest is up to you. We will not tell you what brand, model or specifications to buy other than it must meet our requirements as stated above. We would suggest talking to your student's teachers to find out any subject specific software i.e. Autodesk or Adobe CS that may be used and then research the required specifications. This is not a requirement, however it could help in making the device more useful for your student. Please see our FAQ in the quicklinks for additional information.
Has the school negotiated any special deals?
Dell, Acer and CompNow have approached the College with the opportunity for parents to purchase commercial grade devices directly from them using "parent portals".
The devices that can be purchased from these parent portals are the same devices that the school is able to purchase. All devices have been vetted by the school and anything that is available from the parent portals is appropriate to use at school.
Parents also have the option of purchasing insurance, protective casing and peripherals.
The devices, while more expensive, are sturdier and more robust as well as offering on site warranty therefore reducing the downtime you may experience in the event of a technical issue.
We recommend you have a look at the specifications for each device to see what fits your requirements.
While you are able to purchase any device that meets our requirements from anywhere you desire, we do recommend looking at the parent portals and using them to guide you in your decision making.
How do I access these portals?
Please allow a 3-4 week turnaround for all purchases through these portals. For more accurate timings please consult the vendor.
Dell portal
Access key: RedlynchStateCollege
Pin: RSCQu33nsland
Acer portal
Access code: redlynchsc
The Acer portal requires you to create a personal login to be able to purchase. The Dell portal uses the Redlynch State College access key but requires you to create a personal pin code before ordering.
Additionally devices (Macbooks, Surface Pro, HP and Fujitsu) can be purchased from CompNow.
What assistance will the school provide for devices?
For the BYOx program the management of faults belongs to the parents. The school is willing to offer assistance. Technical support that the school offers includes:
- connecting to the internet
- software assistance and advice
- advice on faulty equipment and how to get it repaired
- assistance and a place for the vendor service technician to come to repair your device if you want to organise for it to be repaired at school instead of in your home.
What the school will not do
- Repair of physical hardware
- Reinstalling operating systems
- Anything else not covered above
The school will not modify your device directly without approval from either a parent or student. The school however does reserve the right to remove any device from our network that fail to meet our mandatory requirements, contain inappropriate or illegal material or breaches the College's Code of Conduct.
In the event of the police requiring access to a device for their investigation, we will comply.
Who can I contact for help?
The school has prepared a FAQ list for parents and students. Any questions that have not been answered can be sent to our school technicians at BYOX@redlynchsc.eq.edu.au.
Alternatively, any issues can be emailed to admin@redlynchsc.eq.edu.au.