Student Laptop Setup Guide
This page details all you need to know to have your child’s laptop ready to go for the first day of school. Once your child’s laptop is setup, we encourage you to explore the other resources we are providing on the ASFM Responsible Use Policy, Digital Citizenship, Parental Controls, and Facebook Privacy Settings. Please e-mail 1to1.students@asfm.edu.mx if you have any additional questions or needs.
Software Requirements:
Operating System: OS X 10.7 Lion or OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
- Any Apple laptop purchased after June 2011 will be running at least OS X 10.7 Lion
- Before installing any of the software below, you must be running OS X 10.7 or 10.8
- Please Upgrade if you have an older version
- Check what OS you are running
- Click on the
- A window will appear like the image below to show your “Version” of OS X
Anti-virus: Sophos Anti-Virus
- Apple Laptops do not come with an Anti-virus software installed
- Anti-virus software will protect the laptop from virus and allow it to run efficiently
- Video Tutorial for Installation
Multimedia Suite: iLife ‘11
- Apple Laptops come with the iLife Suite installed
- Any Apple laptop purchased after September 2010 should have iLife ‘11
- iLife includes: iMovie, GarageBand, and iPhoto
- Please Upgrade if you have an older version
- Cost: $14.99 per application to upgrade
- Check your version
- Click on to open one of the iLife applications (iMovie, iPhoto, or GarageBand)
- Once open, click on the name of the application in the top left on the menu bar just to the right of the
- Click on “About iPhoto” (or the application you opened)
- A window will appear like the image below to show the iLife you have (ignore the version)
Productivity Suite: Microsoft Office ‘11 (Student Edition)
- Apple Computers do not come with a productivity suite installed
- ASFM curriculum requires the use of Microsoft Office productivity tools
- Purchase - English Edition Microsoft Office ‘11 (Student Edition) Cost: $1,500 MXN
- Check your version:
- Open the Finder window
- Click on the “Applications” folder
- The Microsoft Office folder should be called “Microsoft Office 2011”
Free Required Software:
Resource Collection: Evernote
- Evernote is a tool for collecting and organizing information collaboratively from the web, books, images, written notes, documents, etc.
- Evernote is great for note taking, researching, collaborating, sharing information, and organizing yourself.
World Globe: Google Earth
- Google Earth is a 3D digital globe that allows users to zoom in to explore real images of the world.
- Google Earth has layered information for learning about the Earth like: active volcanoes, earthquakes, images, videos, weather fronts and patterns, animal migration routes, 3D city layouts, and ancient city 3D overlays
- Google Earth is a great tool for geography, history, environmental, ecology, cultural lessons and more.
Concept Application: Geometer's Sketch Pad
- GSP is a tool that allows student to build interactive visuals that represent the math equations they are solving.
- GSP is an adopted Math curriculum tool for grades 6-12
3D Simulations: Wolfram CDF Player
- CDF allows students to use a variety of 3D simulations on the Wolfram Demonstrations Page to analyze and compare the relationships between ideas.
- Demonstrations have been created for math, physical science, life science, creative arts, geography, engineering, business, the list goes on!
Video Conferencing: Skype
- Skype is a communication software that allows two people on the internet to connect with one another via instant message, audio calls, or video calls.
- Skype has been useful in the classroom for connecting with experts, authors, other classrooms, asking late night questions to the teacher, or holding group meetings outside of school.
- Teachers and students have even used it on sick days so they can keep up with what is going on in class or not loose time collaborating on a project.
Internet Browser:Google Chrome
- GC is an alternative internet browser to the Apple provided software Safari. Occasionally one browser will work better than the other for different sites
- GC allows for a more dynamic experience for users given the widgets and attentions that can be installed for improved research tools
Social Bookmarking Tool: Diigo
- Diigo is an online social bookmarking tool that allows students to access their important bookmarks from an device in the world. It also allows for highlighting on web pages, adding notes, organizing with tags and sharing with others.
- Diigo is used for information analysis, resource collection, note taking, researching, group collaboration, and resource sharing.
