Technology Requirements

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 other portable devices as an important part in their educational development. When purchasing a new laptop, we recommend you purchase internationally known brands (Lenovo, Dell, Hp, Apple Mac). 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 IT Support 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. Our IT Support Team might be able to perform operating system updates or reinstalls on student devices with prior written authorization from a parent/guardian. Microsoft Windows or Mac-based laptop 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.

Browsers

Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Microsoft Edge
Safari

Multimedia

VLC Media Player
H-Lite Codec Pack

Antivirus

Esset
McCafee
AVG
Avast
Kaspersky
Windows Defender

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 LibreOffice, which does not require a license to be installed. Also, every ANS email contains Google Docs package free.

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 time.

Computer with at least a 2 GHz standard Intel or AMD processor. Intel Core architectures are preferred (Core i3 or i5) and AMD equivalents (Ryzen 3 or Ryzen 5). We do not recommend the Intel Celeron or Intel Atom CPU models.
Windows 10 or 11 Professional is strongly recommended. Mac OS XIII Ventura or higher, preferably.
An updated antivirus and anti-spyware software is recommended. Windows 10 computers include Windows Defender, which will suit your basic needs.
Solid-state drives are recommended above regular hard drives. In any case, try to go for 240 GiB or higher.
At least 8 GiB of RAM (memory). This is the corner that most people cut, but we feel that at least 8 GiB is necessary for your laptop to perform reliably.
A wireless network card that conforms to the 802.11 ac/ax specification with 2.4ghz to 5ghz, preferably 6ghz. Please be sure to confirm with your provider; otherwise, the device might not perform reliably in our school network.
A secure carrying case.

Intermediate Requirements

Computer with at least a 2.5 GHz standard Intel processor. Intel Core architectures are preferred (Core i5 or i7). We do not recommend the Intel Celeron or Intel Atom CPU models.
Windows 10 or 11 Professional is strongly recommended. Mac OS XIII Ventura or higher, preferably. Apple Macbook Pro is recommended.
An updated antivirus and anti-spyware software is recommended. Windows 10 computers include Windows Defender, which will suit your basic needs.
Solid-state drives are recommended above regular hard drives. In any case, try to go for 500 GiB or higher.
At least 16 GiB of RAM (memory).
A wireless network card that conforms to the 802.11 ac/ax specification with 2.4ghz to 5ghz, preferably 6ghz. Please be sure to confirm with your provider; otherwise, the device might not perform reliably in our school network.
A secure carrying case.