Technology

Freshwater Christian College is committed to incorporating information technology into learning in a meaningful and cost-effective manner. At Freshwater, technology is fully integrated into the curriculum and used to enhance learning in subjects such as literacy, numeracy, LOTE, music, visual media; and, IT-specific topics such as coding and robotics.

Because we recognise that online safety is an increasingly important factor in the wellbeing of our students, Freshwater also provides cybersafety programs and resources for students, teachers, parents and the wider community to provide safer online environments both at school and home.

Kindergarten

Freshwater Kindy seeks to provide an educational experience that ensures all students are fully prepared for entry into Prep. One of the ways we achieve this is through the limited use of digital apps and resources in a classroom setting to introduce students to a blended learning that is used in Prep and beyond.

Kindy parents can access Class Dojo, as well as entertaining and educational video content and resources developed and created by our creative Kindy staff. To access this content, parents can use the ‘Student Portal’ available from the FCC Portals button.

Primary School

Freshwater seeks to promote an educational environment that allows students to use technology to enhance their learning in a manner that reflects and upholds the College purposes. To accomplish this goal, the College is committed to educating students about digital citizenship from Prep onwards, helping students learn how to be smart, safe and responsible online.

Technology is fully integrated into the Primary School curriculum and used to enhance learning in subjects including: literacy, numeracy, LOTE, music, visual media; and, IT-specific topics such as email, coding and robotics.

Prep to Grade 2

Grade 3 to 6

Secondary School

From Year 7, students enter our Managed Device Program, establishing an engaging learning environment that makes use of e-books and other online educational resources for collaboration and communication. As part of this program, Students are issued with a Chromebook throughout Years 7 to 11 under a low-cost rental agreement (i.e. part of the fee structure), which includes a comprehensive warranty; accidental damage protection insurance; and, on-site IT support and assistance.

Why Chromebooks?

Your Chromebook

Google Workspace

Moodle

Cyber Safety

Online safety is a very important factor in the wellbeing of our students, particularly in an Online Learning environment, and we are taking a holistic approach to Cyber Safety with the aim of providing safe online environments both at school and home.

Our College has also partnered with Family Zone, a comprehensive Cyber Safety solution, to provide parents with the ability to manage their kids’ online activity and provide ongoing support from a team of leading Cyber Experts.

Guidelines

Cyberbullying

Family Zone

Parental Controls

At Freshwater, Google Workspace is integrated into the curriculum to enhance learning in all subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities, The Arts, Technologies and more. We use Google Workspace to empower a personalised and tailored learning experience for each individual student.

Obtaining Google Certification is strongly encouraged for all of our staff and we currently have over 35 Google Certified personnel on staff at the College.

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Commencing in Prep, students begin using iPads in the classroom for lessons primarily targeted at numeracy, literacy, music and basic computer skills. As some students engage and respond better to visual or interactive lessons such as videos or educational games, teachers can use these resources to take a differentiated approach with students where appropriate.

iPad Trolleys

All of the Prep to Grade 2 classes have access to iPads with a wide variety of age-appropriate educational apps available for use. We have found the iPads are particularly useful for younger students who do not yet have the dexterity and skill to use a keyboard and mouse as effectively as older students.

Beginning in Grade 3, students are introduced to email and the Google Workspace apps that are widely used at the College by all students from Grade 3 onward. Students in Grades 3 to 6 also begin using Chromebooks as well as engaging in a more diverse range of technology topics including visual media, coding and robotics.

We recognise that students' online safety is an increasingly important factor in their wellbeing. We, therefore, teach students strategies and skills to help them to be good online citizens through our Digital Citizenship Program.

Chromebook Trolleys

Grade 3 to 6 classes have Chromebooks available to be used in lessons in various topics as well as completing assignments in the Google Workspace apps, including Classroom. This experience provides excellent preparation for Primary students as they transition to Secondary School, where they will use Chromebooks and Google Workspace extensively as part of our Secondary Managed Device Program.

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is our online learning platform for Grade 3 to 6 students. Classroom is simple to use and provides a centralised hub for all Upper Primary online classrooms. Classroom streamlines the process of sharing all types of files between teachers and students and allows teachers to create assignments and provide feedback seamlessly. Students can access Classroom and our other online learning resources from the Student Portal available through the 'FCC Portals' button on our website.

The Chromebook was chosen for our Managed Device Program after careful consideration of several factors, including:

Effectiveness in supporting learning in the classroom
Ease of use for students
Features and performance
Security and management
Durability and cost

Education Focused With Fewer Distractions

Chromebooks have been specifically designed to be used in the classroom with the Google Workspace for Education being perfectly suited for classwork collaboration. The Chromebook also provides the College with tools to make it much easier to restrict the use of games, social media and other time-wasting activities in the classroom than is possible with most other devices.

This feature helps the College to address concerns about cybersafety and assist parents in preventing their children from accessing inappropriate materials online both at school and home as part of our Digital Discipleship programs.

Students will be issued with a new Chromebook at the beginning of Year 7 and year 10 under a Rental Agreement through the College. Students who enter the College in Year 8, 9, or 11 may be provided with a previously issued Chromebook, which will be no more than two years old and covered with the same full warranty and accident protection insurance as provided to all Year 7 and 10 students.

Each year, the College will evaluate the latest Chromebooks available on the market and will purchase the device that is considered to provide the best mixture of features, performance, durability, and value for families. This means the actual device issued to Secondary students may differ from year to year, but the functionality, quality and value will remain the same.

Google Workspace is a collection of cloud-based applications provided by Google to enable students and teachers to work and collaborate while enjoying the benefits of a fully connected environment. Google Workspace includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Forms, and more.

This suite of apps makes it possible for students to work from almost anywhere they want, simply by logging into their College account on their Chromebook or any other internet-connected device.

Learn more about Google Workspace for Education.

Moodle is our Learning Management Platform (LMS) for all Secondary students from Years 7 to 12. Moodle is simple to use and provides a centralised hub for all Secondary classrooms. Moodle streamlines the process of structuring learning and sharing of activities and files between teachers and students and allows teachers to create assignments and provide feedback in a seamless way.

Students can access Moodle and our other online learning resources from the Student Portal available through the ‘FCC Portals' on our website.

Cybersafety Guidelines for Parents

A few good guidelines to follow to help ensure a safe internet experience for your family:

Never allow children to have access to the internet unsupervised. No internet-capable devices should be allowed in the bedroom or other private areas where you cannot monitor them.
Regulate the use of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Social media sites have become a primary source of cyberbullying for many school-age children.
If your children have any social media accounts, ensure their privacy settings are set appropriately.
Do not allow unrestricted technology or unmonitored use of message sites and apps such as iMessage, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and other services that allow private, group or 'secret' messaging between users. Services such as this have also been used for Cyberbullying as well as grooming of children.
Use a web filter such as Family Zone (provided for free to all families at the College) to protect your family from inappropriate images and content on the internet.

If you would like more tips and guidelines for keeping children safe online, see the iParent website, provided by the Federal eSafety Commissioner.

Cybersafety Guidelines for Children

Never post private information such as your phone number or address on Facebook, Twitter or any other blog or site.
Remember that all comments, photos or videos posted on the internet today may stay available on the internet for years or decades. Don't post something you will regret because it may be permanently online.
Be a good online citizen and never write or post anything that you know would hurt someone else's feelings or be considered bullying. There are laws governing all forms of workplace, schoolyard or cyberbullying.
Always inform your teacher(s) or parent(s) if you come across anything online that makes you feel uncomfortable, or that you consider to be bullying against yourself or another student.
Immediately inform your parents or a teacher if someone asks for private information on the internet.
Never agree to meet an 'online friend' that you have met on the Internet or any social media apps or games.

Overview

Freshwater Christian College takes a very strong stance against cyberbullying of all types. We are committed to educating students to use technology with wisdom and discernment, while also protecting our students from immoral, illegal or damaging actions by themselves or others, either knowingly or unknowingly. This is done through education, on-site and off-site web filtering and alerts, as well as counselling and disciplinary strategies where necessary.

If you would like to speak to someone about cyberbullying issues, we encourage you to first discuss these matters with your child's teacher(s) and/or the relevant College Head of School (Primary or Secondary) and to also utilise the resources provided by the Australian Federal Government and other organisations to assist you in learning more about the best ways to address cyberbullying

Resources

The Kids Helpline is available on 1800-55-1800 as well as online at the Kids Helpline website.
Help and advice are also available through ThinkUKnow, a partnership between the Australian Federal Police and Microsoft.
Reporting of cyberbullying can be made through the Complaints and Reporting section of the eSafety Website provided by the Australian Federal eSafety Commissioner.

We are committed to creating a cyber-safe environment for our College and have partnered with Family Zone, a comprehensive Cyber Safety solution, to provide parents with the ability to manage their kids’ online activity and provide ongoing support from a team of leading Cyber Experts

The Freshwater Cyber Safety Hub is a great resource developed to keep our community aware of the latest cyber safety topics and issues, and it also includes information and resources on how the use of Family Zone will benefit your family at home.

Almost all Internet-enabled devices, including PCs, Macs, iPads, Smartphones, gaming consoles, and Smart TVs include built-in parental controls. With these parental controls, you can activate restrictions and time limits to allow you to monitor and limit what your child sees and does online.

The esafety.gov.au website provides excellent tips and resources on using parental controls on all types of devices and services, including:

Technology

Kindergarten

Primary School

Prep to Grade 2

Grade 3 to 6

Secondary School

Why Chromebooks?

Your Chromebook

Google Workspace

Moodle

Cyber Safety

Guidelines

Cyberbullying

Family Zone

Parental Controls

Begin Your Journey

Continue the Journey

Why Freshwater?

Enrol Now

Community

Contact Us

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Contact Us

iPad Trolleys

Chromebook Trolleys

Google Classroom

Education Focused With Fewer Distractions

Cybersafety Guidelines for Parents

Cybersafety Guidelines for Children

Overview

Resources

Computers, Tablets, and Smartphones

Gaming Consoles

Streaming Media

Parent Lounge

Student Portal

Parents Portal

Student Portal