Massive deployment of iPads in Scotland

[Ditto]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-49475108

 

It will be interesting to know what MDM tool they are using.

[FishCustard]

I like this bit:

 

There is some some contingency for lost iPads but Glasgow City Council says it is stressing to young people that the iPads are their responsibility

It seems sensible, and will teach students to look after technology.

 

 

However, this, from the supplier... *ahem*, sorry "consulting service"

 

The rollout will help free up teachers and boost their control of the learning process, while also improving inclusivity for students in the educational process.

 

seems like a load of codswallop management speak. How exactly will it free up teachers? How will it "boost their control" [assuming we're still talking about teachers here]?. Have the T&L goals been clearly defined? Are there a set of digital books or programs linked to the Scottish curriculum they'll be using?

 

Or is it more "students + iPads = magic" like this failed Californian programme.

Edited August 27, 2019 by FishCustard

[Brimstone]

I like this bit:

 

 

It seems sensible, and will teach students to look after technology.

 

 

However, this, from the supplier... *ahem*, sorry "consulting service"

 

 

 

seems like a load of codswallop management speak. How exactly will it free up teachers? How will it "boost their control" [assuming we're still talking about teachers here]?. Have the T&L goals been clearly defined? Are there a set of digital books or programs linked to the Scottish curriculum they'll be using?

 

Or is it more "students + iPads = magic" like this failed Californian programme.

 

No it isn't, this project has been well thought out at least 2 years before any iPads were deployed and have involved Apple, CGI and XMA. The BBC story is incorrect in leaving out XMA as they are the supplier and NOT CGI who are just doing some of ongoing consulting and the BBC in typical fashion have skimmed only the surface detail of this.

 

Perhaps have a read of the extensive report from the Scottish Borders Council.....?

 

https://scottishborders.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s34233/Item%20No.%205%20-%20Digital%20Learning%20Transformation%20report.pdf

[DJ-1701]

An incorrect story from the BBC? Who would have thought.

[FishCustard]

From a skim of that Council report, it seems that they have thought it out very clearly (not that I'm surprised - the Scottish central and local governments usually are very sensible) - good for them and best of luck with it! If it works well it might be a template for other areas to use.

[Ditto]

No it isn't, this project has been well thought out at least 2 years before any iPads were deployed and have involved Apple, CGI and XMA. The BBC story is incorrect in leaving out XMA as they are the supplier and NOT CGI who are just doing some of ongoing consulting and the BBC in typical fashion have skimmed only the surface detail of this.

 

Perhaps have a read of the extensive report from the Scottish Borders Council.....?

 

https://scottishborders.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s34233/Item%20No.%205%20-%20Digital%20Learning%20Transformation%20report.pdf

Perhaps unfair of some to take a pessimistic view first. As with so many projects, it's how well it has been run that's important. From what I've seen, Scotland has some outstanding educational technologists - anyone that follows G Suite progress and Education will find that out. What is interesting to me here is the selection of Apple stack. I'm not saying they are wrong to do so, and clearly this project is a follow up to a couple of others, but given the views on this site about managing Apple devices, it will be great if we can learn some best practices. A useful document for some discussion on this project - and less dry than the report linked to previously is here. The 'Why iPad' makes their views clear. Further comments on 1-1 and BYOD is also noteworthy. There's a lot my info there too - I'm pleased to see it published.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Ditto

[localzuk]

Why does the project cost £300m+? That's my big question. That's £6000 per device (obviously, that's not how it is spent, but a rough guess of £300 per device and £5700 for "other" stuff seems rather a lot anyway).

[FishCustard]

My pessimism was really linked to the wishy-washy quote from CGI (which, it seems, is the BBC's fault ultimately - poor journalism), and the fact that so many iPad projects that I've seen haven't had anything like the level of research and planning that this one evidently has. I'm sure many of us know a school or MAT that has introduced them without a clear goal in mind!

 

I'm likewise surprised to see that the iPad came top in their VFM assessment, but it'll be interesting to see how this one develops.

[Ditto]

Why does the project cost £300m+? That's my big question. That's £6000 per device (obviously, that's not how it is spent, but a rough guess of £300 per device and £5700 for "other" stuff seems rather a lot anyway).

I think the £300 million is again poor journalism. I suspect that figure relates more to a much bigger, longer term project. For the part being reported here, £16m is more the mark. Look at the document @Brimstone linked for a more detailed breakdown.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Ditto

[Brimstone]

Why does the project cost £300m+? That's my big question. That's £6000 per device (obviously, that's not how it is spent, but a rough guess of £300 per device and £5700 for "other" stuff seems rather a lot anyway).

 

As per the learning program site...

Please note - the devices are only one element of the Inspire Learning programme. Significant investment is being made as part of this programme in other benefits including, teacher training and supporting infrastructure to ensure that the learning experience of young people in the Borders is the best that it can be.

 

 

[Meldrew]

Some interesting quotes from the document, including:

"The negotiated unit cost of the Apple iPad device is substantially lower than any available alternatives."

"The Apple solution is also the only one identified that gives full digital control in the classroom to the teacher"

The document states loads of benefits to T&L under 'evidence', but I'd like to see some actual studies that they have examined which gives them this data.

[Brimstone]

Whilst I agree too many schools don't do enough evaluation, preparation and thought into buying iPads you can say the same about any technology projects they decide to invest in.

 

There are plenty of fantastic schools that have implemented iPad schemes over the years, it's a real shame that these fall under the radar on here. I could fill this thread with research papers that document successful projects with real evidence...here's a few of them.

 

https://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/education/research/Documents/iPadImplementation2014.pdf

 

https://www.deferrers.com/ipad

 

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1205781.pdf

 

https://aran.library.nuigalway.ie/bitstream/handle/10379/7298/Mac%20Maho%2C%20Ó%20Grádaigh%20%26%20N%C3%AD%20Ghuidhir%20%282016%29.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y

[Ditto]

Some interesting quotes from the document, including:

"The negotiated unit cost of the Apple iPad device is substantially lower than any available alternatives."

"The Apple solution is also the only one identified that gives full digital control in the classroom to the teacher"

The document states loads of benefits to T&L under 'evidence', but I'd like to see some actual studies that they have examined which gives them this data.

Agreed - it would very interesting to have more details - I wonder if the procurement process is documented? Presumably Scottish education and Scottish law is similar to English, so accountability of public money expenditure should be possible. Sure, they'll be those that would never support Apple as a route, but it further scrutiny and debate would be healthy. Personally I'm open-minded and I would find it enormously valuable to see if their chosen solution was compared to say, Microsoft 365 stack/Surface/apps as well as G Suite for Education/Chromebooks/apps. Ideally, if all three of these solutions can be used effectively, then the market competition should be good for all schools.

 

On an additional note with respect to G Suite, I did notice the first document stated under "Coverage and Flexibility" - The Apple solution is the only solution that is fully cross-compatible. What this means is that it is only through the Apple solution that not only are all the principle Apple Apps and digital textbooks, curriculum teaching materials and Apple Classroom available, but that all other potential requirements such as MS Office, GLOW and GSuite are compatible also." On the face of it could sound like a fairly bold claim, but saying Apple Apps run on iPads is not such a big deal and aren't all the other things quoted things that run in browsers?

[Ditto]

Whilst I agree too many schools don't do enough evaluation, preparation and thought into buying iPads you can say the same about any technology projects they decide to invest in.

There are plenty of fantastic schools that have implemented iPad schemes over the years, it's a real shame that these fall under the radar on here. I could fill this thread with research papers that document successful projects with real evidence...here's a few of them.

https://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/education/research/Documents/iPadImplementation2014.pdf

https://www.deferrers.com/ipad

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1205781.pdf

https://aran.library.nuigalway.ie/bitstream/handle/10379/7298/Mac%20Maho%2C%20Ó%20Grádaigh%20%26%20N%C3%AD%20Ghuidhir%20%282016%29.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y

Generally these show successful iPad implementations. All well and good, but mostly they are retrospective reviews with little detail on the solution selection process. Do you have examples where there is evidence of a pre-implementation review where market place options are considered and then arguments as to why one particular path was followed. I'm sure I can find similar positive implementation of G Suite/Chromebook (Google Reference Schools )and Microsoft (MS Showcase schools). The schools I've recently worked with, and that are somewhat behind the EduTech, really need something to kick-start them on what to look at and how to compare what's on offer.

[elsiegee40]

 

This thread seems to be drifting off topic.

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by elsiegee40

[synaesthesia]

Doesn't seem too far off kilter to me (costwise) - the article at least states that wifi infrastructure would be boosted at the same time and as we know, that alone isn't cheap.

I'd trust Huaweihahaha before Apple as far as companies go but with sensible pricing, decent systems around to manage them (We have XMA in at the moment and I think they said they were working with Intune? I may be wrong.) and plenty of history as regards to setting this sort of thing up successfully.

2 years of planning and forethought would certainly be nice to have so good to see something's gone into this. Perhaps when Brexit is over and done with, we might consider further unifying with Scotland? Sounds like some people actually care about education up that way! (from a laymans point of view, I know very little of education up there outside of primary!)

[Brimstone]

Agreed - it would very interesting to have more details - I wonder if the procurement process is documented? Presumably Scottish education and Scottish law is similar to English, so accountability of public money expenditure should be possible. Sure, they'll be those that would never support Apple as a route, but it further scrutiny and debate would be healthy. Personally I'm open-minded and I would find it enormously valuable to see if their chosen solution was compared to say, Microsoft 365 stack/Surface/apps as well as G Suite for Education/Chromebooks/apps. Ideally, if all three of these solutions can be used effectively, then the market competition should be good for all schools.

 

On an additional note with respect to G Suite, I did notice the first document stated under "Coverage and Flexibility" - The Apple solution is the only solution that is fully cross-compatible. What this means is that it is only through the Apple solution that not only are all the principle Apple Apps and digital textbooks, curriculum teaching materials and Apple Classroom available, but that all other potential requirements such as MS Office, GLOW and GSuite are compatible also." On the face of it could sound like a fairly bold claim, but saying Apple Apps run on iPads is not such a big deal and aren't all the other things quoted things that run in browsers?

 

All Google and MS Office apps are available in the iOS App Store, I use Google Classroom all the time??