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Bring Your Own Technology!Whether it's a Macbook, Windows laptop, Chromebook, or tablet, Brebeuf Jesuit students are invited to carry any device of their choosing to support their learning in an increasingly digital world. We do not lock our students into a single operating system, a single type of device, or only one way to solve problems. Instead, we encourage them to identify the tools that best fit their learning needs.

We Recommend Your Device Be Able To:

  • Communicate – Have a wireless connection that allows students to access various online tools for communication with other students, coaches and teachers including our school provided email, social media for clubs and organizations, and other chat systems.
     

  • Create – Have a system with a strong enough battery (and charger) and facility to create presentations, documents, etc. throughout the day. Based on experience, this often means that the device should have a keyboard (tablet only students are rare).
     

  • Curate – Students will use their systems to access various online tools provided by the school, including our virtual classroom extensions and our Google Apps for Education environment and online textbooks that are required or optional depending on the course.
     

  • Collaborate – Through the Google environment and other tools, students are often working together on shared documents, video chatting with peers in and out of the school, etc.

Additional Tips and Tricks

  • Some students to have multiple devices, i.e., a tablet reader or phone in addition to the primary device). Although this is acceptable, it is by no means required. 
     

  • Students use their systems a lot, meaning battery life should be considered. Many students charge throughout the day if their devices do not have an 8+ hour battery. 
     

  • The extended warranty that covers accidental damage is a wonderful thing to have even if you hope to never use it. It usually lasts around three years. Additionally, it is a good idea to discuss padded laptop cases or sleeves, some of which are built into backpacks. A common source of screen damage is shoving an unprotected laptop into an overly full book bag.
     

  • Students interested in art classes or journalism often benefit from having a Mac- or Windows-based computer. Both types allow students to take advantage of the newest Adobe software used in their classes and provided to all students in the school.
     

  • Brebeuf provides students with multiple productivity tools including Microsoft office, Adobe Creative Cloud and Google Docs. The school also gives teachers and students access to a number of educational tools, most of which are deliberately cross-platform.
     

  • All students should install active virus scanning software on their machines regardless of type.
     

  • When it comes to memory, more RAM (usually measured in GB) is always better. The minimum is 8 GB.  Large hard drives are useful if students download a lot of movies, make movies, or play downloaded video games.

Computer Choosing

As a general rule, use what you and your family are comfortable and familiar with using. We have students with $300 chromebooks and $2000 dollar laptops. Much of the decision is based on experience, what tools are available at home, and what types of uses the student envisions.

The most popular overall model is the Macbook (various ages and types), followed by Windows machines, primarily the Microsoft Surface, although there are a lot of brands represented. Chromebooks are in third place, again from a wide variety of manufacturers. The number of iPads, Android Tablets, and alternative operating systems used as a primary device has seen a steep decline in the last 3 years.

Hope this helps with your computer choosing. Please contact us if you have any questions!

IT Support

Carol Branson, 317.524.7066 or Helpdesk@brebeuf.org