John Paul College achieves full marks with Windows 10

Queensland independent school, John Paul College, has extended its one-to-one program by rolling-out Windows 10 Education Edition across 1,600 student devices, giving teachers and students access to the latest education technology.

John Paul College’s Principal, Peter Foster, said the deployment is part of the school’s long-term STEM and digital transformation strategy by having technology completely integrated in the teaching and learning processes to make its one-to-one program more effective.

“John Paul College one-to-one program spans more than two decades, and we have a proud history in incorporating technology through all key learning aspects of the curriculum. Through Windows 10 we hope to take this to the next level; helping foster student creativity and innovation, logical and lateral thinking, assist with research, and develop 21^st century skills needed for the future – no matter what they choose to do.”

The upgrade to Windows 10 was undertaken following a pilot program with the school’s Year 8 cohort. The initial test was in November 2015 and the system was officially deployed in January 2016 with the support of Microsoft and Data#3. Ms. MacNamara said the move to Windows 10 has set strong foundations for the school to deliver on its 2017 objectives.

Jan MacNamara, Director of ICT, said “As we look to next year, we’re definitely focused on touch and inking. They are non-negotiables. Using Windows 10 Education Edition we discovered the Business Store has been a fabulous addition to our classrooms. It allows our teachers to filter through thousands of the best education apps available, and test to see if these work for our students.”

The college moved to Microsoft Office 365, with students and teachers having access to OneDrive and the Windows Store for Business – setting up a dedicated John Paul College environment where students can access school-specific digital content and external media rich databases, information services and a wider selection of curated material.

 “Having transitioned to Windows 10 and Office 365, we now have a whole new layer of multimedia content that allows students to be more in control of their learning. This too has had a profound impact on our staff who through a single sign-on have incredibly rich resources at their fingers tips,” added MacNamara. “The return on investment is directly seen in the education outcomes delivered to our students. With 99 per cent of students gaining employment or being accepted into further studies within a month from leaving the college.”

George Stavrakakis, Education Director, Microsoft Australia said Windows’ ability to provide top-grade collaboration tools, differentiated learning, personalised teaching and integration with a range of devices help John Paul College bring out the best in its students.

“John Paul College understands the important role information and learning technologies play in facilitating learning experiences that can’t be provided in any other way. By optimising 21^st century skills with Windows 10, the school is delivering on its promise to prepare students for lifelong learning and to be effective in the new world of digital knowledge.”