Year 4-5 iPad Parent Information Booklet

2022

Year 4/5 iPad Parent Information Booklet

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Introduction All children in Year 4 and 5 are required to bring an iPad to school.

This document explains what iPad they need to bring and why we require all Year 4 and 5 children to purchase their own iPad for use in school.

Operating System If your child will be using an iPad which your household already owns, please update the operating system to the most recent system supported. At the time of writing, the current iOS is 15.1.

If your child is using an older iPad, it will need to run at least iOS 11 for all the apps on the Y4 app list to run correctly.

We do not allow students to use cellular connections (3G/4G) at school.

Purchasing a new iPad If you do not have an iPad which your child can use, you can purchase one from the online Apple Store https://www.apple.com/th/ or the Apple Shops at Central World and Icon Siam. Powerbuy also stocks iPads. Both Powerbuy and Apple offer interest free instalment options which can be useful if you want to spread the payments.

The company SPVi (Authorised Apple Reseller) offers Education Prices for students and teachers: www.spvi.co.th

Tel: 0816453289

Email: veerasak@spvi.co.th

Model and Capacity Most students find the standard iPads suitable, with sufficient screen space. In school, we use standard size iPads. iPad Pros or Airs are not required. The current cost of an iPad Generation 9 is 11,400 THB on the online Apple store or 10,700 if purchased via SPVi. Students will need a 2 minimum of 64GB of storage.

Why iPads?

There are three main reasons that the school asks children to purchase iPads for use in school.

These are: 1) Consistent use throughout school iPads are used in all classrooms from Year 1 upwards in school.

Students are very familiar with the apps on iPads and increasingly proficient in their use. Students will continue to use iPads, and Google Classroom, when they transition to Upper School.

2) Portability and Ease of Use iPads are easily transported, stored and handled. iPads are able to record video and take pictures easily, which can be used as part of multimedia work.

The camera on the iPad can also be used in other ways, such as to read QR codes or provide Augmented Reality experiences.

3) Reliability and App Installation Online learning has shown us that iPads are used widely across our community largely due to their ease of use and reliability. The process of installing and using apps on iPads is designed to be simple.

Please ensure that all apps on the Y4 app list are installed by the start of Term 2A. Should you have any problems, please contact Mrs Jones who can support you with iPad setup and app installation (emily_jo@harrowschool.ac.th).

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How are iPads used in school?

iPads are used in lessons to compliment the curriculum and to provide opportunities for learning, discovery and creativity.

Broadly speaking, there are three types of iPad use:

1) Experiencing and Inspiring Children will use apps that allow them to experience information, events, locations and situations that they would not otherwise have access to. These experiences can be used as a stimulus for work.

2) Working and Creating Children can program, conduct science experiments, create multimedia projects and use the full range of apps alongside tools like Google Drive to produce some stunning digital work.

3) Communicating and Collaborating in the Online Classroom Children save their work onto Google Drive and Classroom, making it accessible wherever they are. In Upper School, children also have access to the Google Classroom environment and receive most assignments and submit work digitally.

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Addressing Issues

1) App requests Some apps will make requests of the user when the app is installed or during use. (Examples include AR apps, which require use of the camera, or Google Earth, which asks for location information).

Parents and students should be mindful of which apps they trust and make careful decisions about what they allow apps to access.

Students should avoid having anything on the iPad that could identify, embarrass them, or cause offense to themselves or others.

2) Too much time spent on the iPad Parents should make it clear that the iPad belongs to them. In Year 4, iPads will only be used in class under direct supervision and it is advised that parents supervise children whilst they use the iPad and allocate set times for its use at home. This ensures appropriate use and a proper balance of time in front of and away from a screen.

3) Not enough handwritten work At school, we believe that handwriting is an important skill and the majority of work that children do in Year 4 will continue to be handwritten. iPads are used to complement, not replace written work.

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Addressing Issues

4) Internet safety Safe use of the internet is taught to children at school in Computing lessons and discussed with children as part of PSHE lessons with their class teacher.

As at school, iPad use at home should be supervised and children encouraged to discuss any inappropriate content they are exposed to.

Five aspects of internet safety to be aware of:

1) Online Purchasing 2) Online Contact 3) Being Identified Online 4) Cyberbullying 5) Viewing inappropriate

content

To keep your child safe, please read the advice on the following pages carefully.

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Addressing Issues

Online Purchasing iPads can potentially be used to spend large amounts of money through purchasing apps, in-app purchases and other types of internet purchasing. Parents should ensure that the iPad is set up to require their own password for any purchases.

Online Contact Many apps include opportunities for online collaboration. All use of iPads by Y4 children at home should be under direct supervision to ensure that parents are aware of children’s activity online.

Being Identified Online At school, children are told never to give out information online that could be used to identify themselves or others. This includes name, age, location, school, photograph, password, or any other personal information. Please reinforce this extremely important message in the home as well.

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Cyberbullying Cyberbullying is extremely hurtful, due to the permanence and visibility of content created and sent electronically. Children in Year 4 will regularly be reminded of what constitutes cyberbullying and taught to recognise signs and effects. Parents should be mindful of signs that their child has been targeted by cyberbullying. Follow the link below to watch an informative video entitled ‘Top 10 Forms of Cyberbullying’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xo8N9qlJtk

Any instances of cyberbullying against other students at school, even committed outside of school hours, will be dealt with in accordance with our behaviour policy.

Accessing Inappropriate Content Children who use the internet have access to a lot of content which would be considered inappropriate for their age. Parents can help to protect their child through discussing why some content might be inappropriate, which is a message which is also taught in school.

Parents can agree with their children which apps and websites they can trust and use together. iPad use should always be supervised at home, as it is in school.

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Setting Up Parental Restrictions One way to control iPad use is by using ‘Screen Time’ This can be found under the Settings menu.

To use Screen Time, it is recommended that a password be created that is known only by parents.

‘Downtime’ settings allow users to set up hours where the only apps that can be used are the apps in the ‘Always Allowed’ folder.

If a child tried to use an app during ‘Downtime’ that is not in that list, they will need to enter the 9 passcode.

Screen Time: App Limits/ Always Allowed ‘App Limits’ (also under Screen Time) allows you to control how much time is spent using various categories of apps. It is possible to time limits for different days for various categories of apps. If a child tries to use an app longer than the allotted time, they would have to ask for the passcode.

Adding apps to the ‘Always Allowed’ list means that they can be used freely at any time, without a passcode.

This might be useful for apps that are used solely for educational purposes or needed in class.

It might be a good idea to add educational apps used at school to the ‘Always Allowed’ folder, or to schedule ‘Downtime’ for non-school hours to ensure that children can use the apps they need to at school.

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Screen Time: Content and Privacy Restrictions It is worth taking some time to explore this important area of ‘Screen Time’. In this section you can ensure that a password needs to be entered before: -

Apps are installed In-app purchases are allowed Adult content is viewed

In this section, you can also block multiplayer games or allow students to only interact with friends, block private messaging and ensure that the music, podcasts and news content setting is set to ‘Clean’ rather than ‘Explicit’.

Above all, remember to tell the children that the iPad is your property and that you can check it at any time. If your child becomes secretive and possessive about the iPad, it usually means that they have something to hide.

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Summary – Role of Parents -

Discuss and allocate time for supervised iPad use at home.

Make it clear the iPad is a tool for learning Talk to children about what they do online Set up parental controls and strong passwords.

Make it clear that the iPad belongs to you

All information in this booklet was shared and discussed at the Year 4 Parents’ iPad Meeting in December 2021.

The information in this guide is intended to complement parents’ own research and due diligence with iPads.

We would like to thank the school ICT Department for the hard work that they do in configuring and supporting student iPads. In the first week of Term 1B, students will hand their iPads into the ICT Department to be set up. This can only be done once the iPad agreement has been signed.

If you have any questions regarding your child’s use of the iPad, please do not hesitate to contact their class teacher or Mrs Jones (emily_jo@harrowschool.ac.th)

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We look forward to inspiring student creativity through the strategic use of iPads this year and beyond!

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