All students must register their laptop with IS/IT before using it at school. The registration process will not take more that one day and interim a school loan laptop can be issued whilst the student's laptop is being registered.
Students can use our systems without registering their laptop, but we do not recommend it as services (eg printing) and security will be compromised. We regularly sweep for devices that are connecting to our systems that have not been registered and will revoke access if they are not registered within an appropriate window of time.
Following a check of the authenticity of the operating system the following software will be installed for free:
- Microsoft Office 365 (if the laptop does not have a version of Microsoft Office pre-installed)
- Sophos Antivirus (if the laptop does not have fully-licensed recognised antivirus software pre-installed)
- Software specific to subjects in Year 10 and above (eg Microsoft Access)
For Windows users, the school's 'Microsoft Agreement' licence permits students to have their Windows operating system upgraded to the latest version on the laptop they use at school*. With this in mind, students about to buy a new laptop should ask for "Windows 10 Home Edition" to be installed (if there is no operating system pre-installed) which will cost approximately $150. This should be done before they register it at school. Our IS/IT department will then upgrade Windows to the Pro version and install Office 365 at school at no extra cost.
All students' laptops should be protected with anti-virus software which updates daily. We recommend Sophos as this is the software that is used on school computers. Students can obtain Sophos from school for use on the laptop they bring to school. Please visit the IS/IT Department to arrange this.
Certain school software licences allow students to install programs such as Pro Desktop and Autograph on their personal computers for school work.
At Patana each student has access to Google Suite and Office 365 linked within the Patana domain. This means students can create documents using their web browser which are stored on Google's and Microsoft web servers. They can access these documents from any computer with internet access. It is very easy for students to use these documents for collaborative work with other students.
Older students specialising in certain curriculum areas may wish to buy more powerful software packages such as Photoshop and Sibelius to support them in their studies. Their subject teachers can best advise them in these matters.
* Please note that this offer only applies to Secondary students. Year 5 students can register their laptops from the 1st May in Term 3.
Students and staff are only licensed to use the product during the licensed period. These licenses are temporary (meaning the student or member of staff does not own the license). On leaving the school or expiration of the subscription enrollment, students and members of staff are required to remove the licensed product from their personal devices.
Source: ICT Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Students/Parents:
You can purchase the Windows 10 Home Edition for B5199 (as of Feb 2017). IS/IT will then upgrade the version to Windows 10 Pro for free and install the latest version of Microsoft Office 365. You do not need to have installed the purchased Windows 10 Home Edition - just bring official proof of purchase. Please note that there are many non-official versions of Windows available on the market and in the process of upgrading the version is checked. IS/IT may be in contact with you to inform you that your version is not official. It is highly recommended that if you purchase a device that does not already have an official version of Windows installed then you should use the Microsoft website to buy one.
The Thai Microsoft site is here: www.microsoftstore.com/store/msapac/th_TH/pdp/ThemeID.27660100/productID.320416700
The Thai Microsoft site translated into English is here: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoftstore.com%2Fstore%2Fmsapac%2Fth_TH%2Fpdp%2FThemeID.27660100%2FproductID.320416700&edit-text=&act=url
There are shops in Central that sell licenses and you can purchase one via post on this site: http://www.invadeit.co.th/category/operating-systems-windows/. Please note that the school are not responsible for the quality of service or products from these vendors - please do your research.
Please note that all Windows Laptop for Learning devices must have an official version of Windows 8 or above installed (or proof of purchase given) before IS/IT will upgrade the device. As part of the Laptop for Learning scheme users are responsible for the purchase of the operating system on the device prior to registering the laptop with IS/IT.
Students with Apple Mac notebooks can have Windows 10 installed for them by our technicians on Parallels or Boot Camp, our technicians will support Virtual Box. If you have any questions about this please contact helpdesk@patana.ac.th.
Some students will prefer to purchase Windows 10 themselves rather than take advantage of using the school's licence so that they can continue to use the software after they have left Patana (our license is only valid whilst enrolled at the school).
Please be aware that most installations of Windows 10 will delete all other files on your laptop. You should backup any important files to an external source.
Source: ICT Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)