iSteve Posted May 16, 2016 Posted May 16, 2016 Hello, We have experience of managing a few dozen iPads, but a department has just ordered 60 cheap Android tablets for students to use and I don't know the best way to manage / deploy them. We have Google Apps set up for school; I turned on Google For Work as this mentioned managing Android devices, however this then hijacked any Android device any user used to sign in, including personal phones, so we turned that off quite quickly. How does one manage an Android tablet - configuring what is and what isn't accessible to end users in a similar way to Apple Configurator in iPad land?
3s-gtech Posted May 16, 2016 Posted May 16, 2016 Common perception here is that they're a swine to manage. I'm sure there are solutions - Meraki can do it, but I'm not sure how deep it goes. iOS has this far more developed.
Cazale Posted May 16, 2016 Posted May 16, 2016 We have Google Apps set up for school; I turned on Google For Work as this mentioned managing Android devices, however this then hijacked any Android device any user used to sign in, including personal phones, so we turned that off quite quickly Can you expand on this? I'm considering trying out Google Apps, but this sounds like a bit of a hazard. Under what conditions did (and how) it take control of personal Android devices?
iSteve Posted May 16, 2016 Author Posted May 16, 2016 Can you expand on this? I'm considering trying out Google Apps, but this sounds like a bit of a hazard. Under what conditions did (and how) it take control of personal Android devices? We activated it, then students came to the door saying "I signed in to my email last night on my phone, and now my camera don't work no more" - it had disabled the camera, and torch and other such stuff.
Cazale Posted May 16, 2016 Posted May 16, 2016 We activated it, then students came to the door saying "I signed in to my email last night on my phone, and now my camera don't work no more" - it had disabled the camera, and torch and other such stuff. Isn't the device approval phase intended to prevent this? (here: https://support.google.com/a/answer/6328699?hl=en&ref_topic=1734198) 1
Koldov Posted May 16, 2016 Posted May 16, 2016 (edited) Hello, We have experience of managing a few dozen iPads, but a department has just ordered 60 cheap Android tablets for students to use and I don't know the best way to manage / deploy them. How does one manage an Android tablet - configuring what is and what isn't accessible to end users in a similar way to Apple Configurator in iPad land? Hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but..... Notice, no replies to my thread asking a similar question. http://www.edugeek.net/forums/netbooks-pda-phones/168604-tablets-good-anything.html http://www.edugeek.net/forums/cloud-services/167115-android-management.html http://www.edugeek.net/forums/netbooks-pda-phones/170078-class-set-tablets.html I have found nothing in the years they have been sitting in the IT cupboard (graveyard of brilliant purchases*) that will manage them other than to turn off the camera (as you have discovered). *Very badly informed choices! Nobody seems to care about managing generic android devices, because they were never meant to be education devices. Similar to how iPads were in the beginning - they are just an individual/personal leisure toy. Kol. Edited May 16, 2016 by Koldov
TwistedHelixis Posted May 16, 2016 Posted May 16, 2016 Can you install the learnpad management software on them? They used to have the software as a separate download.
ntoupin Posted May 17, 2016 Posted May 17, 2016 We use a android MDM with our android tablets. It can also be used for iOS but we use it strictly for our Android. TabPilot MDM for Schools | Mobile Device Management for iPad, OS X, Android It gives teachers easy control over the tablets - they build "profiles" with different apps set to them and can schedule those to change or manually change them. There is a license cost upfront and then a yearly cost on top of that.
agasiorowski Posted June 9, 2016 Posted June 9, 2016 With the Tab Pilot MDM, can you stop students installing and uninstalling apps? Do apps install automatically when push out? I'm using Meraki at the moment and it works great for iOS devices but not so well for Android. Also, does anyone know a way to clone a master Android tablet that can be deployed to multiple tablets, in a similar fashion to Apple configurator? This is what I have been tasked with and finding it very difficult without rooting the device (voids warranty).
ntoupin Posted June 9, 2016 Posted June 9, 2016 With the Tab Pilot MDM, can you stop students installing and uninstalling apps? Do apps install automatically when push out? I'm using Meraki at the moment and it works great for iOS devices but not so well for Android. Also, does anyone know a way to clone a master Android tablet that can be deployed to multiple tablets, in a similar fashion to Apple configurator? This is what I have been tasked with and finding it very difficult without rooting the device (voids warranty). Yes, the tablets are locked down and the only thing you can do with them is what the teachers set as the current "profile" - basically the apps they choose to be shown on the screen and accessible. When applying the profile from the management, they do push out to the tablets to automatically install. We never really had to make a master tablet - through TabPilot, upon registering them, you can remotely uninstall any of the apps you don't want to start with a blank slate, then go from there. Even if there's 200 apps installed, users will only see the ones set by the profile, so there isn't a big need to change settings and remove specific apps on one and try to clone it over.
agasiorowski Posted June 9, 2016 Posted June 9, 2016 Amazing, it sounds more reliable than Meraki. I will have a look at this system tomorrow. Cheers for the reply.
NewFormz Posted June 9, 2016 Posted June 9, 2016 We've got a few we use Meraki to install apps and track them. We have an app we use called kids place that locks them down so they can only used pre-defined apps. The Meraki system manager has just released a new feature called work profiles which apparently gives you more control over them but I've not checked it out yet.
jmak Posted June 9, 2016 Posted June 9, 2016 We use a android MDM with our android tablets. It can also be used for iOS but we use it strictly for our Android. TabPilot MDM for Schools | Mobile Device Management for iPad, OS X, Android It gives teachers easy control over the tablets - they build "profiles" with different apps set to them and can schedule those to change or manually change them. There is a license cost upfront and then a yearly cost on top of that. Sounds great - almost like Learnpad, but with the option to buy better tablets [emoji3] I appreciate you're probably not allowed to share full details, but could you give a ballpark figure for the costs? Thanks
Geoff Posted June 9, 2016 Posted June 9, 2016 I was on an MS training course recently. We covered InTune. It can manage android devices for you. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/enduser/using-your-android-device-with-intune
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now