Equip your device with options from the following and you'll be prepared for (almost any) situation at the College...

All of the software you require during your day-to-day study at Coffs Harbour Senior College is available as a free download, pre-installed on your operating system of choice or provided by the Department of Education & Communities at no cost to the student. Ensure the device you choose to use is equipped with the following types of software:

• Word Processing software:
  

Word processors do not need to be fancy as teachers are more concerned with the quality of the words you produce rather than how pretty you make your headings! The main consideration is that any written work to be submitted electronically must be saved as a PDF document. If you're a Mac user and prefer to use Pages to create documents, ensure you save your documents as .docx if you wish for non-Mac users to be able to edit the same document. 

• Office suite:

It is essential that you utilise an entire office suite so that you have applications ready to handle such document types as presentations and spreadsheets. Maths, Science and Technology subjects require you to develop and apply spreadsheet skills. 

Microsoft Office for Mac and Windows is available as a free download for students at Coffs Harbour Senior College. Documents are able to be shared with other students and teachers through OneDrive

• Note-taking software: 

You may prefer to simply use a word processor like Microsoft Word to type up class notes, however a dedicated note-taking application might offer more flexibility. Ideally you should be able to keep related notes together in a digital 'notebook' and attach to-dos and links, take snippets or screenshots from the web and link other documents such as assessment task outlines to planning notes. Dedicated note-taking applications also tend to autosave changes so you can focus on the learning instead of the technicalities. Microsoft OneNote is highly recommended and available for all devices. 

• Compression software: 

7 Zip is free to download and installed on all Windows CHEC campus computers so you may find it best to install the same software on your own device. The Unarchiver is an alternative for Mac users that provides all of the same features.

• Calendar/Task management/To-do list: 

The best habit you can develop as a Year 11 and 12 student is time management. You need to be able to balance study and revision, assessment tasks, exam periods, employment, work placement, major projects, homework, extra-curricular activities, socialising and wellbeing. The sooner you start using a paper or electronic method of organising your time, the better. Find the combination of calendar and task management tools that work for you and take the time to maintain them. You want to avoid accidentally missing a deadline or forgetting about a commitment or leaving all your work to the last minute. 

• Adobe/PDF reader: 

Electronic copies of your assessment tasks, some worksheets and notes as well as all syllabus documents will be given to you in PDF format so your device will need to have software installed that allows you to open and view PDF documents.

• Virus scanner: 

Your device must be free of viruses/malware if connecting the the CHEC wireless networks or sharing files with staff and students at the college.