eLearning

At St Finbar’s, we pride ourselves on being a lead school in the area of eLearning. Children today live in a fast changing world, marked by rapid developments in technology. We do not know what the future holds for students of today but we do know that technology will play a big part in their future. Our intention is that our students will leave St Finbars confident and proficient using technology.

St Finbar’s is a Google Apps for Education School, which has transformed the way that students and staff work. Students store all of their work in their Google Drive which can be accessed anywhere and anytime.

As of 2020, St Finbar’s is proud to have implemented a one-to-one Chromebook program for our Year 2 to 6 students.  Every student in Years 2 to 6 has their own Chromebook for their exclusive use. Teachers use the program Hapara as a way of managing student work. These tools and resources support teaching and learning by enabling students to communicate, create, collaborate and  store information in ways not previously possible.

2020 also saw the purchase of 50 new iPads for exclusive use in our Foundation and Year 1 classrooms. Students in Foundation and Year 1 have access to a class set of iPads and a class set of Chromebooks to support their learning. iPads are also used extensively throughout the school with students using Apps to reinforce concepts covered in class. 

St Finbar’s is blessed with many other tools to support eLearning. All year levels have access to coding tools such as beebots and sphero robots. The school is also in the beginning stages of developing a podcast channel that will be run by our Year 6 eLearning Leaders. This will be a powerful tool for students to develop skills in producing and editing content for our community. 

St Finbar’s recognises the importance of real time feedback for our students and parents. We use the SeeSaw program to connect families with the school and to see student work and celebrate progress. SeeSaw is a powerful tool for students to work collaboratively and maintain a portfolio of work that will stay with them throughout their time at St Finbar’s. 

CYBERSAFETY 

Cyber safety and respectable online behaviour is at the forefront of everything eLearning at St Finbar’s. Our students are educated frequently in this area, with our Year 5 and 6 students completing a Digital License, providing a thorough educational experience in how to behave in a complex online world.

We offer parent information evenings that cover the many aspects of the online world and provide parents with important information on how to approach issues that may arise. 

We have a comprehensive eLearning Policy that can be found Here

We recommend that families also visit the Australian Government eSafety Website https://www.esafety.gov.au/

SNAPSHOT     

• 1 to 1 Student Chromebook (Years 2 - 6)

• Class Sets iPads & Chromebooks (Prep & Year 1)

• Google Apps for Education School

• SeeSaw (Student portfolio and parent engagement)

• Comprehensive CyberSafety Program

• Coding Program

• School Podcast