The Educational Technology Program at ANS is based on online applications and digital resources and platforms. ANS requires students from grades 5th – 12th to bring laptops or netbooks as an important part in their educational development.
When purchasing a new laptop or netbook, we recommend you purchase internationally known brands.
It is important for laptops to be carried in a laptop bag or backpack in order to protect it during the day at school. It is advised to purchase an extended warranty in case there is any damage to the laptop. Our Technology Team will assist students with any troubleshooting as long as it does not require any replacements or manipulating the device in any way that might void the manufacturer warranty.
Microsoft Windows or Macintosh-based laptop or netbook computers are the most recommended.
Required Software
The following software packages are necessary for the educational needs of your child. For each category, we list different programs that are more or less equivalent, however, we strongly recommend free and open source software, as it has proven to be more reliable, secure and respects your freedom. Our recommendation will be in bold.
Required Software
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Browsers |
Plugins |
Productivity Suites |
Multimedia Apps/Codecs |
Antivirus |
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Office Suites
PDF Readers
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Please note that students should have sufficient rights to update and install appropriate software.
*Microsoft Office, iWork and other proprietary software require the purchase of a license, which is not necessarily included when buying a brand-new laptop. We recommend you ask your vendor about the possibility of having the laptop with the Office productivity suite installed or trying OpenOffice, which does not require a license to be installed.
Summary of Recommendations
The specifications below are intended to help guide you in the purchase of a new laptop. You are not required to purchase a laptop that meets or exceeds these specifications, but doing so will help to ensure that your laptop remains useful for more years.
- Computer with at least a 1.5 GHz standard Intel or AMD processor.
- Windows 7 Professional or higher is strongly recommended, Mac OS X “Sierra” preferably.
- An updated antivirus and anti-spyware software is required, especially for Windows-based computers.
- A 250-gigabyte or larger hard drive.
- At least 4 GB of RAM (memory). This is the corner that most people cut, but we feel that at least 4 GB is necessary for your laptop to perform reliably.
- A wireless network card that conforms to the 802.11 b/g/n/a/c specification.
- A secure carrying case.