IPAD Experiences

[ICT_GUY]

Reading the forums, talking to people who have set them up in schools I am dreading the acquisition of Ipads in our school.

 

Has anyone got experiences deploying Ipads and how it went? How long do they last? Long term costs?

 

I am not an apple fan and I am not a fan of Tablets in general. My general feeling is that they are toys that are being shoehorned into education because they are shinny and more fun than a boring old work horse PC. I can see the advantages of using them in the classroom but the cost implications, lifespan and durability seriously worry me. A £200 pc will easily last 5 years and if there is a hardware issue it is easy and cheap to fix. I don't know how this will compare with an Ipad.

 

Unfortunately those firmly in the Apple fan boy camp seem to gloss over the major implications with using a consumer product in an enterprise/educational setting.

 

So please share your views and experiences. I don't have that warm fuzzy feeling that I normally get in anticipation of new shinny kit is coming my way. :-(

[Millgate]

Morning,

 

Hull Uni have published a report on the use of iPads in schools that might be worth a read

 

http://www.e-learningfoundation.com/Websites/elearningfoundation/images/PDF%20Documents/iPad_Scotland_Evaluation.pdf

 

Our Edugate scheme allows you to choose whatever device you want (laptops included). We can also help out with roll outs, bundle in other items etc.

 

Let me know if you need any more info

 

Luke

[bobt]

I was equally skeptical about the use of iPads. From listening to other schools around me at the time, it was chaos with kids smashing them up, losing them and generally just awful. There was no management of the iPads and they were skattered everywhere.

 

Here however, it seems to be working really well.

We have found that if we hold all the iPads as a central resource in our office with teachers then coming and booking them out, it works well. Teachers seem to take more care if x10 iPads are signed out under their name with Little Timmy not being allowed to run around the classroom balancing an iPad on his head (seen it before in another school).

 

We've had one breakage in the last 18 months which was in fact a teacher with butter fingers. Kids love them, staff love them and as a whole, they're pretty easy to manage with Apple Configurator but depends entirely on the school's situation/circumstances.

[bobt]

Oh, forgot to mention Griffin Survivors are a MUST!

 

Survivor Cases for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Kindle | Griffin Technology

[SovietRussia]

There is no good ​management so the devices become obsolete and uncontrollable in a education environment.

[ICT_GUY]

I was told at a recent conference that it didn't matter that you could not lock down IPADS properly as it's purely a teaching issue and it's up to teachers to manage their classes properly. My mouth dropped to the floor.

[localzuk]

I was told at a recent conference that it didn't matter that you could not lock down IPADS properly as it's purely a teaching issue and it's up to teachers to manage their classes properly. My mouth dropped to the floor.

 

Its almost as if whoever said that has never worked in a school before...

[Jamman960]

I've been setting up our first 5 ipad mini's for use in the library this week, initially I wanted to throw them out the window as I was trying to set them up individually but having put Meraki MDM in place(5-10mins) I'm beginning to see the light although they're still far from perfect

 

My main problems at the moment are stopping them from asking for the apple ID password in various places and getting them to play nicely with our proxy... until I set reserved IP's and allowed them through our proxy without authenticating they prompted me for credentials every few minutes

 

Going to have to visit a few more schools I think, the one my line manager and I visited pretty much had a tech who's job it was to check ipads... I'll be damned if I'm going to spend all day every day with these things

[ICT_GUY]

 

Going to have to visit a few more schools I think, the one my line manager and I visited pretty much had a tech who's job it was to check ipads... I'll be damned if I'm going to spend all day every day with these things

 

This is my biggest fear. The dilution of my skill set to that of an Ipad baby sitter. :-/

[zag]

As others have said, they work well in specific circumstances.

 

We've rolled them out to teachers and SEN students and they work really well.

 

I'm not convinced on using them as a shared resource though.

[BITS_BryanS]

A number of the primary schools we support have gone with iPads. After a couple of false starts (pushy PTA or heads insisting on them without a strategy) they are generally very popular with staff and pupils, and have a productive place in the classroom.

 

Its important that teachers understand they are not replacements for laptops / pcs, but compliment them. Choose the right apps, work out how they will fit in with what they are trying to teach and ensure you know how you are going to configure them / save work / store & share them and they can be a great success

[Mullaney18]

Little under 2 years ago, at the "Request" of the SLT, I was to source 48 IPads (3 lots of 16 for each phase).

 

After a bit of a search on tinernet, it was apparent we will need some holding cases that has a charge and sync device and ipad cases.

 

I went with IPad 2's, 3 x GoCabby's and "Gripcase"s. Oh, and a Mac Book Pro!

 

Even today, I am still trying to roll them out properly. There was no real inclusion plan to implement them so they sat around in their cabbys not getting used. There’s only so much you can give suggested usage before its clear you need to hire an apple technician, but ofcourse, thats a silly suggestion.

 

As it comes to rolling them out, Apple configurator works quite well (apart from the time i had to force uninstall because of a rogue update). Ofcourse, apple offer little in the regard of customisation (like grouping or icons) or restriction (removing of settings and IPad standard apps).

 

Meraki, as i have come to find today, is pretty cute to look at stats but I couldn't (and not sure if you can) install apps without having to have the AppStore active and having to enter the password in the IPad to authorise the install.

 

As it is now, the deputy actually told staff to derive a timetable for each phase.

 

Hopefully it may become alot eaiser to manage in the future (Apple maybe over the air).

 

For my two pence, Plan the cycle from start to ongoing. You may think they will run themselves, they wont.

Edited September 18, 2014 by Mullaney18

[ICT_GUY]

I have just had an interesting conversation with a member of SMT that seems to suggest that their thinking is that IPADS don't need support.

 

????

 

Am I going to be looking for another job or have they got the wrong end of the stick?

[mrbios]

We've got a trolley of 30 ipads

We also have a trolley of 30 learnpads

 

The latter has been booked out extensively in our calendar, the former not so much.

The latter were setup in the space of one day (including wiring the cabinet), the former have had weeks of faffing about to configure them properly, including the macbook we use to manage them failing causing headaches with apps.

The learn pads are nicely locked into a student view, can access the students home folder and other network shares, they can't mess with the settings and are locked into a lesson view for the subject they're intended for (customisable) the iPads are constantly coming back with pictures kids have taken on them, pin codes set etc.

 

The iPads have been one massive headache since they day they arrived, the learnpads have been fantastic, biggest issue we've had is me forgetting to setup the controller on the trolley to charge them on the first day someone wanted to use them

 

 

Just thought i'd throw that in there, because after using learnpads i don't feel iPads have ANY place in education at all.

[Quackers]

I have just had an interesting conversation with a member of SMT that seems to suggest that their thinking is that IPADS don't need support.

 

????

 

Am I going to be looking for another job or have they got the wrong end of the stick?

 

They still need support, like managing the volume licence of apps, and enrolling them in an MDM, that side, but i think our roles over the coming years is going to change. When i stand back and look, 3 years ago most of my spare time was spent going over to my grandparents, parents, sisters, partners at the time parents and their kids too, and a few other peoples houses fixing Windows based machines with the endless malware or other stupid things Windows does. Now all of them bar one use iPads , with the Windows laptops gathering dust. I have my free time back as I'm not having to baby sit Windows anymore. With the exception of helping with the initial setup i don't hear from them any more saying can you fix X, Y or Z.

[Gibbo]

The important thing is to let it be known that you're willing to embrace new technology. Yes, they can be a pain to set up and manage, but that's why we're here. Just make sure that SMT know their role in this and the logistics of implementation.

 

I was reading an article a while back and Edugeek got a real slating for the negativity coming from its members regarding iPads.

 

This is a pretty good read: Professor Don Passey - Educational Research at Lancaster University

[SYNACK]

I was reading an article a while back and Edugeek got a real slating for the negativity coming from its members regarding iPads.

 

Being right does not always make you popular.

[ICT_GUY]

They still need support, like managing the volume licence of apps, and enrolling them in an MDM, that side, but i think our roles over the coming years is going to change. When i stand back and look, 3 years ago most of my spare time was spent going over to my grandparents, parents, sisters, partners at the time parents and their kids too, and a few other peoples houses fixing Windows based machines with the endless malware or other stupid things Windows does. Now all of them bar one use iPads , with the Windows laptops gathering dust. I have my free time back as I'm not having to baby sit Windows anymore. With the exception of helping with the initial setup i don't hear from them any more saying can you fix X, Y or Z.

 

The old adage "Macs are great for people who can't use computers" comes to mind.

 

A very high percentage of people don't need or don't want a PC. They need basic computing power that doesn't need maintenance. The downside is a loss of flexibility.

 

I recently had two conversations, both about Ipads. One was why they could not plug their Ipod into their Ipad and the other was why couldn't they add an SD card to an Ipad (and an Iphone).

 

Because apple wants to rinse you, that's why.

 

(Sigh, end of rant)

[mrnoisy]

Probably great to manage in the US with DEP, the UK not so much. We will top 400 devices shortly, nice and shiny but what they are adding to education maybe someone could enlighten me.

[mrnoisy]

Morning,

 

Hull Uni have published a report on the use of iPads in schools that might be worth a read

 

http://www.e-learningfoundation.com/Websites/elearningfoundation/images/PDF%20Documents/iPad_Scotland_Evaluation.pdf

 

Our Edugate scheme allows you to choose whatever device you want (laptops included). We can also help out with roll outs, bundle in other items etc.

 

Let me know if you need any more info

 

Luke

 

Hi Luke, a bit of bedtime reading there lol, do you work at Hull uni ?

[caffrey]

I was reading an article a while back and Edugeek got a real slating for the negativity coming from its members regarding iPads.

 

Which ? I'd like to read that

 

Biggest problem we have and are trying to sort is VPNs and byod

Edited September 24, 2014 by caffrey

[zag]

Which ? I'd like to read that

 

Biggest problem we have and are trying to sort is VPNs and byod

 

We've got 100+ ipads on BYOD here and they are probably the most reliable devices out of all the BYOD devices i've seen. Every single one works without issue.

 

As a personal device, you can't beat an iPad really.

[caffrey]

How are you dealing with VPNs ? At the firewall level ?

[Meldrew]

Something I came across on the very good Home - ClassThink.com website.

 

The iPad "Bonjour Problem" - ClassThink.com

 

Too many iWhatever's on your network makes the broadcast traffic so busy it brings your network to its knees. Add in Apple TV, iTunes on PCs, etc you could have problems.

 

Meldrew

[Crumpet]

The battery life is good on them, much better than a laptop. They make good expensive web browsers for the kids.

 

I'm dubious about how much usage the teachers who've bought them out of departmental budgets get from them. I rarely see teachers who've been issued with them actually have them in work. Their reasoning for buying them was flimsy at best and might as well have stomped their feet like four year olds whilst crying 'i waaannnnnt my iShiny!!!' With snot dribbling down their chins.

 

Senior management have clamped down on allowing departments buying them now so i think that speaks volumes about how much they actally use theirs.

 

Not many have broken over the past year or so, one went back to the iStore to be reset, one has had a cracked screen and one with a dodgy screen was fixed by dropping it (again) 2 feet from the floor - It's been a long time since i've been able to fix something by bashing it!

 

The most annoying thing is that they can't be locked down. They regulary come back with backgrounds changed or with passlocks put on them needing to be factory reset.

 

That said, there are some good things that can be done with an iPad.....Fruit Ninja is an addictive and fun game.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Crumpet