School Job - iPad and trolley help

[Benjiboy87]

Hi there!

 

My first time posting in this forum although I have visited this site many times over the years. First let me introduce myself a bit, I am an IT professional and have been a "techie" for a good 12-13 years now. I started out in primary schools across West Yorkshire. I have been out of the school scene for about 4 years now though so I thought it best to get a second opinion here before going ahead with a job that has been asked of me.

 

A local school with links to our company need a suite of iPads. I am looking at pricing up for them 16 with a charging trolley and management software. Some of my mates still work in schools and have recommended the following https://zioxi.co.uk/portfolio-item/zioxi-ipad-charge-sync-basket-trolley/

 

Does anyone have some helpful advice on the below?

 

1. Is this trolley dependable, has anyone here used it before? what trolleys would you recommend and why?

2. Which iPad model would you recommend? is 32gb enough for primary schools these days?

3. Which protective case would you recommend?

4. Which management package would you recommend and why?

 

That's all for now cheers folks!

 

I will try and give something back to the community in return, I will keep my eye on the Windows server forums to see if I can contribute.

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[Nausing]

We use charge and sync cases. There cheap and small so easy to carry and move.

 

We use 16GB here but don't have many apps.

 

Cases we use are thick foam padded things.

 

As for MDM we use Meraki

[Benjiboy87]

Hey Theo,

 

Thanks for your post. Charge and Sync is that a brand name?

 

How many apps roughly would you say you have? Just so I can get an idea. I know from my school techie days when it came to PC software our images had up to 60 different applications installed in some schools lol!

 

I would be interested to know of some case/trolley combos that work as I don't want to invest in a trolley only to find that the iPad storage slots are too narrow for a decent case.

 

Meraki, I will have to read up on that thanks!

[Mr_Jiminy]

We recently recommended a Zioxi (formerly ISIS) laptop trolley for a school in need of two smaller trolleys.

 

They've been great, clients very happy - although the limited compartment dimensions did require us measuring the laptops prior to the procurement. That said, I doubt that would be required with iPad's.

 

The trolley range is quite stylish and doesn't look as industrial in comparison to others.

[Sylv3r]

We've got 2 Zioxi cabinets across our schools and are just as good as the other tablet trolley / cabinet people and we've always found them the cheapest when getting quotes.

[MatthewL]

Does it have to be iPad, what about an Android based tablet its cheaper. What apps are they running, can they run Android, are they just saying iPad because they look nice. Doesn't mean they are suitable for the job.

 

Save a few quid and get some better Android based ones if you can.

 

Presume you have WiFi that can cope with these?

[dhicks]

Is this trolley dependable, has anyone here used it before? what trolleys would you recommend and why?

 

In my experience, trolleys are never used as mobile devices, they wind up sat in one location. This could just be the schools I've worked in, which have tended to be older buildings hwre it's awkward to get a trolley around the corridoors. Castor wheels never seem big or robust enough, either, they get shaken to bits if you any kind fo rough outside surface. The removeable holders for devices are a good idea, though, those tend to work well. You're probably best having the large trolley in a static location (depending on you school's insurance, possibly even bolted securly to the wall) and have people come and get containers of devices as needed.

 

We've gone for smaller static containers in each classroom, making sure there's a bit more "ownership" of devices so they, hopefully, get looked after a bit better.

 

2. Which iPad model would you recommend? is 32gb enough for primary schools these days?

 

No, 32GB is not enough for Apple's new Shared iPad features, I think the minimum specified is 64GB. We went for 128GB iPad Air 2s, just to be on the safe side - should be good for a few years.

 

3. Which protective case would you recommend?

 

Depending on how the iPAds are to be used, a protective case as such might not be neccesary. I do like LearnPad's wireless iPad charging cases, though:

 

Tectus ? Wireless Charging and Storage | LearnPad UKLearnPad UK

 

4. Which management package would you recommend and why?

 

One that includes facilities for working with Shared iPad features. As far as I can figure out at the moment, that means JAMF Software's Casper suite.

[paulellam]

We have Zoixi, very well thought out, cable management is as good as it can get compared to other brands, we love em!

[Joanne]

I use Parotec iNsync charge and sync trolleys, they are hardy and take a good bashing. Get ones with in built cables!

 

As for cases I go Griffin Survivor. Expensive but well worth it.

[paulellam]

+1 Griffin cases!!

[rad]

+ 2 Griffin Survivor case. Robust, big and grippy. You wont loose an ipad as they cant fall off desks etc.

 

We have a few trolleys, they all stay in the same place so I would recommend the Griffin charging unit

https://griffintechnology.com/us/products/power/multidock

With all the ipads, I find it easier to get them all out the trolley and plugging them all in and checking them over. Our iPads dont get updated with apps that often, some once a year.

[Zipsterr]

I have used the Lapsafe and tabpcabby range in the past which both seams to do the Job I also like the Parotec range but that from my experience only

 

I hope you find the right solution

[DavR]

We use the LapSafe Traveller with Gripcases for our Junior set, and it works well. It is a bugger to get up and down stairs though, so not ideal for stair-heavy environments. For our Infant set, there's nothing on the market to match the horrific cases the teachers bought with them, so I made my own with a plastic storage tub and a Cambionix PowerPad charge and sync block.

 

I have used the Griffin Survivor, I gave that to our PE dept, who are trying their best to destroy it but only cosmetic damage so far! Good product.

[simonw]

We have Lock n' Charge trolleys. Wish we didn't though - they are quite big and they sit in my office. The carry baskets are good though, 5 devices each. The other PITA is that the cables tend to get yanked out of the sync boxes which are underneath the 'floor' of the trolley. Kids tend to grab the basket without disconnecting the charging/sync cable first. You have to remove the floor to reconnect everything, which can be fiddly.

 

+1 for Griffin Survivor. Great case.