Brisbane State High School
Australia

With over 230 teachers and 3,500 students, Brisbane State High School is one of Australia’s largest — and most academically successful — government high schools.

State High is committed to inclusivity and giving every student a seat at the table. Their leadership understands the vital role teachers play in helping every student reach their full potential — they see technology as a way to help their students, and teachers, succeed.

In 2020, following the success of their school-wide 1:1 iPad programme, they decided to take it further by giving educators a choice between Mac and PC. The uptake of Mac was so significant, it compelled the leadership team to switch the entire teaching staff to the latest MacBook — creating a unified teaching and learning ecosystem that supports their iPad programme.

“With their versatility, compatibility and reliability, Mac and iPad are simply the best tools for our teachers,” says Assistant Executive Principal Emily Simons. “Together, they enable our teachers to do their best work.”

For example, senior physics teacher Luen Tobar understands his subject is high stakes for students and every moment counts. Each day, he enters his classroom, opens up his Mac and finds all his files immediately available, so he can start teaching and engaging students straight away. And with all-day battery life, he delivers all his lessons on Mac without worrying about stopping to recharge throughout the day. “When the technology is seamless and supports the learning, it makes me a more efficient, high-performing teacher,” says Luen.

English teacher Mike Edwards uses the power of Mac to multitask and be more productive. He stays on top of his schedules and admin tasks, along with designing and creating dynamic lessons using PowerPoint. In the classroom, he delivers lessons on his iPad Pro with AirPlay to Apple TV, which lets him move around and engage with students one-to-one — and allows students to show their thinking using their own iPad and apps.

And when modern-history teacher Paul Kennard switched to Mac from PC, he remembers feeling quite apprehensive. With the support and professional development provided by the school, he began with the basics, starting with Calendar and then gradually learning a new app at his own pace. “Now I have a workflow, I can see the benefits, and because all my files are on OneDrive I happily switch between Mac and iPad depending on which one is best for the task,” he reflects.

Brisbane State High School’s switch is a powerful example of how, together, Mac and iPad can support teachers, from administrative tasks to immersive lessons that keep their students engaged. They know that equipping teachers with the best technology is an investment in their people and shows a commitment to valuing the teaching profession itself. State High teachers are now better enabled to support all their students’ academic growth, which has resulted in over 90% receiving their first preference into higher education — some of the highest performers in Australia.