Cleaner caught stealing iPads

[Ketlane]

Long ago our bursar went on holiday. Gave his secretary the key to the safe so she could manage petty cash and so on. key was identified by a big label tied to it saying "Safe key." So she didn't lose it, she kept the key on top of the safe. And yes the office was burgled during the bursar's holiday.

[bald_pig]

That all sounds a bit dodgy (if not illegal from the schools position)... Don't you have to tell people they are being monitored/recorded?

I haven't seen a CCTV policy that tells you where the cameras are, just that the cameras are on site, and you may be recorded. Nothing to stop the school adding, removing or moving cameras!

 

There was a rumour that a few years ago a school close to us had a laptop trolley just blantantly wheeled out of the school!

 

Apparently someone walked off with a TV during a parents evening before I started at my old place!

[Koldov]

I haven't seen a CCTV policy that tells you where the cameras are, just that the cameras are on site, and you may be recorded.

 

Ah, I wasn't sure. I didn't know if they had signed off on a policy which tells them they are being monitored with internal 'spy' cameras.

 

We only have external site cameras covering the playground and carpark.

[Brimstone]

 

 

Oohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh THAT is a sore point with many of us techs to do with Apple and their ruddy devices - the management of them or use in a multi-user environment is an afterthought.

 

Maybe that’s what you believe but there are over 400 MDM, MAM organisations all designed to manage iOS. A good MDM is critical to ensuring devices are ready to be used by teachers and students in the classroom but most IT techs in education don’t think or understand at all why they need one, your statement above proves my point.

[bald_pig]

Ah, I wasn't sure. I didn't know if they had signed off on a policy which tells them they are being monitored with internal 'spy' cameras.

 

We only have external site cameras covering the playground and carpark.

 

As far as I'm aware, there's no difference, so as long as you've told people there are cameras and you may be recorded there's no issue.

[DrBeaker]

Maybe that’s what you believe but there are over 400 MDM, MAM organisations all designed to manage iOS. A good MDM is critical to ensuring devices are ready to be used by teachers and students in the classroom but most IT techs in education don’t think or understand at all why they need one, your statement above proves my point.

 

Wow - learn to take a joke why don't you! Of course an MDM is important - you know any good ones? You can always share the knowledge on here amongst other techs you know...

 

So I guess the Apple Configurator app that worked fine - then stopped on a certain version of iOS whatever it was when the apps then had to be VPP - didn't cause us any aggravation or hassle.

 

Merkai - free, then started to charge us. Coming away from that - didn't cause us any aggravation or hassle.

 

All with no training on the apps and expected to figure it out ourselves? Or with places that don't want to pay for a proper MDM and want some bodge one? Or an MSP who advises "just get a Macbook use and Apple Configurator".

EDIT: This all implies the "Senior Tech" who set it up understood how they worked and even if they were all setup properly BTW.

Hmmmm....

 

As said - I'm sure there's some good MDM systems, care to share?

Edited March 1, 2019 by DrBeaker

[Danp]

Our cleaners are great, they bring any iPads they find back to our office for us

 

Ours too, I think there's a case for looking after all staff and they will look after the business.

[hardtailstar]

Maybe that’s what you believe but there are over 400 MDM, MAM organisations all designed to manage iOS. A good MDM is critical to ensuring devices are ready to be used by teachers and students in the classroom but most IT techs in education don’t think or understand at all why they need one, your statement above proves my point.

 

I'd say most IT Techs in education know that devices need to be administered via a MDM.

 

I'll think you'll find most teachers dont think or understand why an MDM is needed.

[Brimstone]

I'd say most IT Techs in education know that devices need to be administered via a MDM.

 

I'll think you'll find most teachers dont think or understand why an MDM is needed.

 

Most teachers that I deal with who use an iPad (that's just an iPad, no laptop or desktop) to actually teach with, understand why they need an MDM, as they all use Apple Classroom, Shared iPad etc

[Brimstone]

Wow - learn to take a joke why don't you! Of course an MDM is important - you know any good ones? You can always share the knowledge on here amongst other techs you know...

I regularly share my knowledge on here on which MDM's techs should be using, seems to get mostly ignored, take a check on my posts.

 

So I guess the Apple Configurator app that worked fine - then stopped on a certain version of iOS whatever it was when the apps then had to be VPP - didn't cause us any aggravation or hassle.

 

Merkai - free, then started to charge us. Coming away from that - didn't cause us any aggravation or hassle.

 

A race to the bottom is a pointless exercise, then investing in a "free MDM" with zero support perhaps didn't cause you any aggravation, I very much doubt if you asked one of your teachers using iPads in the class every day this would be the same.

 

All with no training on the apps and expected to figure it out ourselves? Or with places that don't want to pay for a proper MDM and want some bodge one? Or an MSP who advises "just get a Macbook use and Apple Configurator".

EDIT: This all implies the "Senior Tech" who set it up understood how they worked and even if they were all setup properly BTW.

Hmmmm....

 

As said - I'm sure there's some good MDM systems, care to share?

 

As someone whose been supporting iPads since day 1 this is my training, which was taken in 2010

 

1 day x Apple Course

1 day x Jamf Course

 

Apple don't provide an iOS training course, but provide hundreds of help guides, books and support content...it's all there on the web if you take the time to find it...here are just a selection

 

https://help.apple.com/schoolmanager/#/

https://help.apple.com/deployment/education/

https://help.apple.com/deployment/ios/#/ior5d40635d0

https://help.apple.com/deployment/edu/1-1/?CID=mkts-EDU-8Elements-8Elements-item19#/ior0b3eda77a

 

 

Jamf provide hundreds of free resources, videos and have Jamf Nation, who are about the biggest macOS and iOS community online, you don't have to be a Jamf customer to get support.

 

https://www.jamf.com/community/

https://www.jamf.com/resources/videos/

 

I've walked away from schools that don't want to pay for an MDM, many of them come back to me six months later (saying you were right so can we talk again) when the iPads are in such a state no one will touch them and the in house tech has either left or says " I don't like iPads so what's the point?"

 

My main point is this, by investing in an MDM iPads are consistent in the classroom, teachers actually start to love using them (with the right support, which I provide) and the school makes some IMPACT with technology. If no investment in managing them is made the project will always fail. I've got many schools that mucked about with iPads for years, only when they made the investment in management and teacher support are they now really seeing results. SLT should be made aware that these are mission critical to success before they think about significant numbers of iPads.

 

Rant over.

[hardtailstar]

Most teachers that I deal with who use an iPad (that's just an iPad, no laptop or desktop) to actually teach with, understand why they need an MDM, as they all use Apple Classroom, Shared iPad etc

 

Well you are lucky to work with such teachers that understand this.

 

SLT should be made aware that these are mission critical to success before they think about significant numbers of iPads.

 

See thats the issue, SLT see schools using ipads and come back to school and often put in an order for x amount of ipads without consulting IT.

 

I've seen many posts/articles on this happening and experienced it in a school.

 

From what you've said, it seems like your school has a bit of money to splash out on Apple equipment.

 

For some of us we can barely afford a set of devices half the cost of ipads.

[DrBeaker]

Well you are lucky to work with such teachers that understand this.

 

 

 

See thats the issue, SLT see schools using ipads and come back to school and often put in an order for x amount of ipads without consulting IT.

 

I've seen many posts/articles on this happening and experienced it in a school.

 

From what you've said, it seems like your school has a bit of money to splash out on Apple equipment.

 

For some of us we can barely afford a set of devices half the cost of ipads.

 

That EXACT thing has happened in schools I've worked in. SLT buy a load of iPads, the management of them afterwards is an afterthought and IT has to pick up the slack and the flack as to "why can't we get this app to work etc" questions. So IT unfairly get a bad rep

 

Some schools are better off and in more affluent areas to be able to afford Apple Devices. The TCO of Apple device still means I can get 2-3x baseunits for the price of 1x Mac. Unfortunately iPads are a luxury for some schools we simply cannot afford, let alone the added expense of an MDM solution that SLT don't understand or see the value of.

[mikeprice]

That EXACT thing has happened in schools I've worked in. SLT buy a load of iPads, the management of them afterwards is an afterthought and IT has to pick up the slack and the flack as to "why can't we get this app to work etc" questions. So IT unfairly get a bad rep

 

Some schools are better off and in more affluent areas to be able to afford Apple Devices. The TCO of Apple device still means I can get 2-3x baseunits for the price of 1x Mac. Unfortunately iPads are a luxury for some schools we simply cannot afford, let alone the added expense of an MDM solution that SLT don't understand or see the value of.

 

One school I worked in for a short time had several sets of iPads - all totally stand alone - and the apps on them had one license - for the whole lot i.e. not one each!!!

SMT couldn't see why the previous IT Tech had complained about this - including in writing - and were surprised when I did the same. Their focus was just on the fact that the apps were good for teaching and they worked - so it was OK.

As far as I am aware the person who got the job permanently (I was on short term contract while they looked for someone better qualified) insisted on the licenses being sorted out or he wouldn't take the job.

 

I am sure there are lots of school like this

[keyboards]

We had a relief caretaker stealing bottles of orange juice from the canteen worth about 40p, like only one or two, it was a bit mad, as the site office had loads of coke, water, tea etc in it. Seemed mad to lose a job over 80p's worth of drinks but he was doing it every night.

 

Got called into the site office and they said can we look at the cameras, we did and spotted him taking a few drinks every night. As he was relief he just wasn't asked back so no harm done.

[mikeprice]

We had a kid steal a laptop at one point - one of the nice high spec ones from Art for use with Photoshop etc..

kid was seen on CCTV walking out with it under his arm while his mate distracted the teacher - so the followed the CCTV trail but lost him in a black hole in the system (failed camera!) - when he appeared again he didn't have the laptop

 

Good thing was that the kids went mad - they were incensed that someone had nicked a laptop from THEIR school and they searched the area where he had 'lost' it

They found it hidden in a bag behind a bin after a few minutes

 

funny thing is - stealing it was totally unacceptable to them - ripping keys off or scratching the screens with pens was not seen in the same way

[Brimstone]

Well you are lucky to work with such teachers that understand this.

 

 

 

See thats the issue, SLT see schools using ipads and come back to school and often put in an order for x amount of ipads without consulting IT.

 

I've seen many posts/articles on this happening and experienced it in a school.

 

From what you've said, it seems like your school has a bit of money to splash out on Apple equipment.

 

For some of us we can barely afford a set of devices half the cost of ipads.

Ive got schools from the most affluent areas and schools from the most deprived areas of the UK that are all making significant impact with iPads, as far as money is concerned nearly every one of them...

 

Has completely stopped buying expensive IWB's and replaced with a large screen TV and Apple TV/Airserver

 

Have no VLE at all

 

Do not sign up for expensive education web sites with resources that no one uses

 

Use Google across entire school

 

Use AFL apps such as Showbie or Seesaw to reduce workload, save on printing costs and provide more powerful feedback for students.