Technology

Many forms of innovative technologies are integrated throughout the MacKillop College campus to enrich each students learning experience. These include:

Computers

The College boasts a wide range of computers with various operating systems and different qualities. The computers have been continuously updated over the last several years with help from the National Secondary School Computer Fund awarding MacKillop College with $150,000 for upgrading Information Technology across campus. Students have access to:

• 22 state-of-the-art Apple iMac computers with industry standard programs including Final Cut Express for digital movie production located in Computer Room 2, these computers are dual-boot systems with both Mac OS X and Windows XP Operating Systems installed providing the student with the option each time they sit at the computer;
• 98 MacBook laptops which are organised into seven mobile labs, one for each Key Learning Area (Religious Education, English, Math, Science, HSIE, Creative Arts and TAS), and stored in easy to transport trolleys for use in general computing tasks anywhere throughout the College;
• 58 Intel Core 2 Duo PC’s, 33 of which are located in the school Library and the other 25 in Computer Room 1;
• A mixture of thinclients and Pentium 4 PC’s situated at the rear of several classrooms throughout the school to facilitate small groups or study lessons;
• 13 Pentium 4 PC’s are located at the Boarding House in Perthville to enable boarders access to computers for out of school hours study.

Network and Internet

The College’s computer network consists of a fibre optic backbone then branches out providing at least one Ethernet port in most classrooms. The College is also covered with triband wireless 802.11b/g/n across the entire Campus for use with school supplied laptops, personal laptops and other devices. The College and Boarding House are joined over the Internet using a secure IPsec over VPN tunnel allowing boarders safe access to their files stored on the servers at the College. The College also filters all Internet traffic through proxy servers and DNS filtering ensuring the students Internet browsing is kept safe from viruses, phishing, malware and of course unacceptable material. The day College is connected to the Internet over ADSL 2+ providing the fastest speed available in the area and the Boarding House also has it’s own ADSL connection which is also the fastest available.  The College, as part of Catholic Networks Australia, has plans to upgrade the Internet connection to 10MB synchronous fibre later in 2009 which will be connecting all Catholic schools in the diocese together providing magnificent opportunities for sharing resources.

ClickView

ClickView is a revolutionary method of capturing, storing and delivering digital media and teaching resources from free-to-air television, Australia’s leading content providers, Austar, from video cassettes and custom made in-house media.  ClickView provides a simple way to publish videos, podcasts, learning resources and photos direct to any Mac or PC workstation throughout the campus. MacKillop College has taken advantage of some of ClickView's more advanced services including "ClickView 24/7" which records 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from six free-to-air television stations for editing and importing into the ClickView library.  Great for when classes want to watch a documentary in class when it is aired at a different time to when the lesson is on.

Servers

The College is supported with numerous servers making it easy for students to access their files from any computer in the College, Boarding House or from home.  We provide centralised Internet and print monitoring to ensure each student (and their files) are safe.  We also have an Apple XServe available for students to use to publish their own websites, podcasts and other assignments.

Other IT Equipment

MacKillop College also has an abundance of other IT Equipment including video cameras, digital cameras, scanners, printers, photocopiers, projectors (ceiling mounted in most classrooms plus portable options), data loggers (for recording changes over time in Science, PH level for example) and this is being built upon each and every day.

Support

MacKillop College employs a full-time IT Technician to provide technical support to staff and students. He is responsible for keeping everything listed above running and up-to-date and also provides individual support for those not sure how to complete a specific IT task. 

If you have any further questions regarding the use of Technology at MacKillop College, please don't hesitate to contact the IT Technician via the contact form,

Regards,

Sam Osborne

IT Technician. 

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