Technology

Malden Catholic has standardized on Lenovo ThinkCentre all-in-one computers and ThinkPad laptops (all running Windows 10 Professional) for all faculty, staff, and for student-use.  All of these Windows 11 devices operate on a Microsoft 365 enterprise network infrastructure.  This is why the following laptop guidelines for students specifies Windows 10 or later as the operating system.

For incoming Grade 9 and transfer students, please follow these guidelines for purchase of Windows 11 laptops:

Windows 10/11 Laptop

• Operating System - Windows 10 or 11
• Minimum Screen Size - 11”
• Minimum Screen Resolution - 1024x768
• Hard Drive/Storage Capacity - 256GB
• RAM (Memory) - 8GB
• Wireless Capability - Dual Band Wireless AC Adapter (5 Ghz 802.11 ac or n)
• Camera, microphone and speaker
• At least one full-size USB port or adapter
• Minimum Battery Life - 7 hours
• Required Browser - Chrome
• Required Antivirus Software - Sophos Endpoint Advanced (Provided by MC)
• Required Accessory - USB Headphones with integrated microphone
• Preferred but not required: Touch screen and stylus (pen)

Required for All Devices

• An additional power/charging cable to keep at school
• Protective case or sleeve
• Durability to withstand the daily handling by a high school student

Highly Recommended for All Devices

• Extended warranty to cover accidental damage
• Insurance policy to cover lost/stolen devices

Student Provided:

• Windows 10/11 Laptop

All students are required to bring their own Windows 10/11 laptop. Other devices such as MacBooks, Chromebooks and iPads are not allowed as some courses require the use of software that will only run on a Windows-based computer.

MC-Provided:

• Wireless Network  Malden Catholic’s wireless network is comprised of over seventy-five 802.11ac wireless access points distributed throughout the school building, including one per classroom.  This summer, MC will be upgrading our wired and wireless networks.  As part of this work, we will be installing state-of-the-art 6E wireless access points that will support next-generation Wi-Fi with software programmable radios supporting 5 and 6 GHz concurrently.
  
  Students must register their Windows 10/11 laptops in order to access and use MC’s wireless network.  Registration instructions will be emailed to students this summer.
   
• Internet Access  Students will be able to access the Internet using their registered Windows 10/11 laptops on MC’s wireless network.  All inbound and outbound Internet traffic is inspected by a perimeter firewall that protects MC’s wireless and wireless networks and connected devices from attacks, malware, and other web-based threats.  Additionally, since Malden Catholic receives partial reimbursement for our Internet Access from the FCC via their Schools and Libraries E-Rate program, our firewall also has web filtering in place to ensure that Malden Catholic provides all students with CIPA-Compliant Internet Access.

• Microsoft 365  All Malden Catholic students have Microsoft 365 accounts which provides them with access to online services such as OneDrive (cloud storage up to 1 TB), Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, etc.
  
  Important note: You do not need to purchase Microsoft Office. As part of our license agreement with Microsoft, all students can download and install the latest version of Microsoft Office onto their laptops at no cost.
   
• G Suite for Education  All Malden Catholic students will also have Google’s G Suite for Education accounts which provides them with access to online services such as Google Drive (unlimited cloud storage), Docs, Sheets, Slides, Classroom, etc.
   
• Sophos Endpoint Advanced with Intercept X  Malden Catholic provides each student with a copy of Sophos Endpoint Advanced with Intercept X that must be installed on the student’s laptop before the laptop can be used on Malden Catholic’s wireless network. This endpoint protection software is integrated with Malden Catholic’s Sophos firewall to provide comprehensive protection of all computing resources utilized at Malden Catholic.
   
• MC Email Address  All active students are provisioned with their own @maldencatholic.org email address that they are to use for academic purposes and when communicating with MC Faculty and Staff.
   
• Single Sign-On (SSO) Credentials  Incoming students will be assigned their own single sign-on credentials that will consist of a user ID (MC Email Address) and a unique one-time password.  When students activate their SSO account, they will be prompted to enter their unique one-time password and will then be prompted to enter a complex password that meets the following requirements:
  • Must be at least 8 characters
  • Cannot be longer than 32 characters
  • Cannot contain the student's first and/or last name
  • Have at least 1 letter (a, b, c...)
  • Have at least 1 number (1, 2, 3...)
  • Have at least 1 non-alphanumeric characters (special characters): (~!@#$%^&*_-+=`|\(){}[]:;"'<>,.?/) 
  • Include both uppercase and lower case letters
  • Cannot contain only one character (i.e., "111111" or "aaaaaa")
  • Cannot contain consecutive characters (i.e., "123456" or "abcdef")  

Students will use their SSO credentials to log into both their Microsoft 365 and G Suite for Education accounts. Students will also use the same user ID to log into LancerLink. While students can select their own LancerLink password, it is highly recommended that they use their SSO password.

Fewer things to remember = fewer things to forget.

• Second Factor Authentication  Malden Catholic has implemented Second-Factor Authentication on our Microsoft 365 Accounts to protect all student, faculty and staff accounts from unauthorized access by off-campus individuals.  New students will be sent instructions in July on how to remotely complete the setup of their MC-provided Microsoft 365 accounts.  During this process, each student will be asked to provide their cell phone number to complete the setup of Second-Factor Authentication on their account.  On a specified interval, remote Microsoft 365 account users will be asked to reauthenticate by entering an authentication code that Microsoft will send to the account holder’s cell phone.
   
• Classroom Web Portal - LancerLink  All Malden Catholic students have accounts to access LancerLink. LancerLink is Malden Catholic’s classroom web portal which provides real-time integration with teachers’ gradebooks, classroom pages (homework, resources, etc.) and student information. Students can view current grades and scores for their classes on interactive dashboards. LancerLink activation instructions for student accounts will be emailed to parents early in July.
  
  Students will use their MC-provided email address to login to their LancerLink accounts.