IPad one 2 one and ALL staff

[oapscarface]

Hi all,

 

I’ve been looking for something somewhere that has a documented/blogged approach to that title, basically we’ve been asked to work towards everybody (that’s 1000 staff and 5000 students!) using iPads for EVERYTHING within three years... A tall (and possibly impossible) order but one that could prove to be either revolutionary or disastrous.

 

Anyway, in the interests of saving people the time and effort of researching and deciding it’s not possible, I thought I would blog my way through it so you can understand at all the mistakes and not repeat them!

 

We started this in May so there’s a bit of a ‘blog dump’ going on at the moment, we’re at the point of having just ordered 150 trial units (yes apple would not provide them!) and I’m not up to that point on the blog ATM.

 

https://middletonhome.wordpress.com/

[oapscarface]

Indeed, we need to get through the pilot, which runs until Easter. From there it’s for or against, I’m trying to stay agnostic as I’m an IT person, tech is tech. I’m not one of those to say just leave things as they are but I’ve already had sleepless nights over how we can make this work. Only time will tell.

[2ilent8cho]

If you are going to that scale i would work with an Apple Education partner such as GBM https://gbmdt.co.uk/ (there are a few others too) if you are not already. You would get a lot of free training for teachers as its based on number of iPads sold.

[3s-gtech]

This all seems a bit...2011? Going paperless is one thing, but single device is just a bit past-it now. Worth trialing some other devices too (Chromebooks, Windows 10 S machines, etc)?

[oapscarface]

I would agree, one 2 one has been around for years and indeed a lot of schools have gone that way, but I can’t find a single school that’s gone iPad complete and utter staff and students, nothing else. That’s what’s on the cards here 100% coverage, removal of laptops and desktops on mass. I would also say that all the schools we’ve visited who have done this for the students one 2 one have not been completely upfront and have simply just said, yeah, it works without any problems. Nobody is willing to be completely open and candid about what’s failed because the investment in time and money is so big that it would be seen as a big epic fail.

 

My blog shows that we’ve researched other devices and the basic reasons for why we went iPad, WIndows 10S simply isn’t ready yet, Chromebooks (at least the lower end ones) are just word processors.

[3s-gtech]

Good luck to you through it. It's going to be an immense challenge, but should be interesting. I'm hoping you're planning to keep a stash of PCs for your office/admin staff (otherwise they will lynch you)?

[oapscarface]

Thanks, we’ll need it. Support staff will continue to have desktops. I’m genuinely not sure it’s possible but we’ll see how it goes. Trial starts in January (150 devices) and from there we’ve got a program for the next 3 years to slowly remove the rest, I’m pretty sure we’ll still have a handful of PC based computer rooms but we’ll see.

[Rob_D]

My blog shows that we’ve researched other devices and the basic reasons for why we went iPad, WIndows 10S simply isn’t ready yet, Chromebooks (at least the lower end ones) are just word processors.

 

Your research makes sense, and I can see why'd you be going apple. But from the chromebook POV, what do you do that can't be done in a browser?

[psydii]

Look at Fraser Speirs and the associated podcast: https://outofschool.net/

 

Your SLT and governors have to not only be completely behind this initiative, but also own it and be prepared to see past the inevitable change in "friction" around tasks using computers. iPads are completely different beasts to desktops/laptops. They are superior in many ways, and inferior in others. Play to the strengths, and wherever possible change what you do to avoid their weaknesses. This is actually a process the school will already have been through with desktops/laptops but wouldn't have noticed since before that there would not have been computers.

 

Go back and work through everything the school does and imagine what the workflow would be if all you had was a tablet. Massive change is inevitable, whereever possible eliminate process and flow that does not actually enhance T+L (see https://teacherhead.com/2017/12/01/10-low-impact-activities-to-do-less-of-or-stop-altogether/ for inspiration). It is a great opportunity.

 

In my experience moving staff wholesale to a new platform a year ahead of moving across the students works best.

[oapscarface]

Your research makes sense, and I can see why'd you be going apple. But from the chromebook POV, what do you do that can't be done in a browser?

 

A valid question. We have one school that currently runs a shared iPad scheme (absolute nightmare to manage don’t go there!) which has shown quite a bit of use of the camera and iMovie, something most Chromebooks would struggle with (particularly at the price point we’re looking at). MS Office was ‘OK’ on the Chromebooks but not in anyway perfect and I would be willing to accept that it ain’t great on an iPad either. Above all else though Apps don’t need an internet connection to work where as websites do, we have 2 schools with quite a high PP count and as such may well not have an internet connection, Chomebooks are obviously much better than they used to be in that situation but would be really limited by comparison to Windows or iOS.

[Brimstone]

Will be interesting to see progress. The last well publicised "paper free" ipad school, Essa Academy? failed hard.

 

Utter rubbish...

 

GCSE Results – ESSA Academy

[synaesthesia]

Was it not Essa? One of them went iPad only, ranted and raved about how great it was then were put immediately into special measures. Memory fails me.

[oapscarface]

We’ve been very clear so far, that one 2 one in any form will not in its self improve results, if done wrong it could actually have the opposite effect. One of the main goals is to level the playing field for the disadvanted.

[Brimstone]

We’ve been very clear so far, that one 2 one in any form will not in its self improve results, if done wrong it could actually have the opposite effect. One of the main goals is to level the playing field for the disadvanted.

 

Correct, 1:1 devices in any school no matter which platform does not replace good teaching practice.

 

Firstly, I would very strongly recommend you partner with an Apple Education Solution Expert (ASE) Many of these are not IT only but have real education people, former teachers, leaders and professional practitioners with many years of experience.

 

Apple have a great planning document which helps to start, known as the 8 Elements

 

https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/eight-elements-for-success/id1079985263?mt=11

 

I would also look to visit one or two of Apple's Distinguished Schools who will give you a good "warts and all" guide to what's involved in plannning for this.

 

https://www.apple.com/education/apple-distinguished-schools/

 

All schools going down this path will get some teachers that refuse to accept change, these will either have to accept or retire or move away.

[maark]

Are ipad screens big enough for teachers to create work on? Most teachers seem to love their ipads but also need a laptop or PC to create content for lessons and to analyse data.

[atcoates]

At my daughters college all staff and pupils have an ipad and use Google classroom for everything. She has never turned on the PC in her room at home and does everything on her Ipad. I asked her if her teachers had a pc as well and she said no, just an Ipad. Re analyse data some of my school use the "Target Tracker" app so I'm sure it can be done. I think if everyone goes in with their eyes wide open and are aware of what an Ipad can and can't do they should be ok.

[atcoates]

Are ipad screens big enough for teachers to create work on? Most teachers seem to love their ipads but also need a laptop or PC to create content for lessons and to analyse data.

 

Ipad pro could always be an option for staff if they need increased work space. Also addition of a keyboard or apple pen may be useful for staff.

 

"The 12.9 inch model has a 2732-by-2048 Retina Display at 264 pixels per inch, and the 9.7 inch model has a 2048-by-1536 Retina Display at 264 pixels per inch and features a variable refresh rate, a first for Apple. "

[NB9457]

Are computers still not needed to deliver lessons on coding/office tasks/website design and learning another OS? If the school offers any form of ICT/Computing GCSE, would they not be needed at all for this? What about online exams?

 

Here we a re looking to use a mixtures of OSes including Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS and Chrome OS, exposing the students to different platforms in my opinion is good.

 

Also, in the real world it's becoming apparent students are knowing less and less about basic computing and computing tasks (is it the early millenium again?!), whilst they may not have a PC at home and I agree they are very familar with tablet devices and this can be in turn used to enhance their education, the likeliness is if they ever get a job, they will at some point need to use a desktop PC and office suite as part of that job.

 

We are seeing more and more children come from primary and not having properly used desktops before and again, day to at home, we probably don't need them, but when preparing them for the real world at getting them ready to go onto further education/jobs, surely something as basic as being able to use word, copy and paste, folder structures should be basic knowledge?

[atcoates]

If they had office 365 then all pupils could access a fully functioning office suite.

 

https://products.office.com/en-us/mobile/office-mobile-apps-for-ios

 

I'm sure there must be other coding options as well.

 

https://www.apple.com/uk/everyone-can-code/

Edited December 5, 2017 by atcoates

[FN-GM]

If they had office 365 then all pupils could access a fully functioning office suite.

 

https://products.office.com/en-us/mobile/office-mobile-apps-for-ios

It's not fully functional. There are a number of features missing compared to the desktop version.

[atcoates]

It's not fully functional. There are a number of features missing compared to the desktop version.

 

Yes I would agree with that and it's something they would have to consider when choosing Ipads. Microsoft are doing an awful lot of development for android and IOS so you have to assume the list of missing functions will get smaller and smaller.

 

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Compare-Word-features-on-different-platforms-5e00dfba-3d7c-4222-b850-a0527ff7b066

[AlanD]

Above all else though Apps don’t need an internet connection to work where as websites do, we have 2 schools with quite a high PP count and as such may well not have an internet connection, Chomebooks are obviously much better than they used to be in that situation but would be really limited by comparison to Windows or iOS.

 

...hmmm... you would need an internet connection to use MS office apps...probably others too....not least of all because you would almost certainly decide to store user data in the cloud - rather than locally on a device where is can be vulnerable...loss/breakage of device...resets...etc.

[atcoates]

...hmmm... you would need an internet connection to use MS office apps...probably others too....not least of all because you would almost certainly decide to store user data in the cloud - rather than locally on a device where is can be vulnerable...loss/breakage of device...resets...etc.

Yes I would assume the same as you. I think they were thinking when pupils took the Ipads home and didn't have internet access they could still use the devices. I'd guess like you that most apps would need some connection to the cloud for saving scores etc. Also for MDM management etc.

[Katy]

Yes I would assume the same as you. I think they were thinking when pupils took the Ipads home and didn't have internet access they could still use the devices. I'd guess like you that most apps would need some connection to the cloud for saving scores etc. Also for MDM management etc.

 

Just had a look on my ipad and you need internet connectivity to create/edit in the office apps (as it forces you to sign in), once signed in it will let you save to ipad but not sure how often it needs to be online to stay signed in. If you aren't signed in then you get the read only mode.

[2ilent8cho]

Just had a look on my ipad and you need internet connectivity to create/edit in the office apps (as it forces you to sign in), once signed in it will let you save to ipad but not sure how often it needs to be online to stay signed in. If you aren't signed in then you get the read only mode.

 

I believe its 30 days, at least it was last time i was bringing this annoying issue up with Office 365 support.