Leasing of Devices

[KASIT97]

Hi all,

 

My first post here, so hopefully I'm in the right place for this.

 

I work at a Primary School where the headteacher is looking to deploy devices to children on either a 1:1 basis or 1:2.

 

He wants iPads and I would prefer Surface Pro's or something of the like. My first question, which devices would you deploy for the purpose of children using them in class to engage with lessons? and to be able to access things like MyON Readers, TTRockstars, Word, etc.. We have some iPads in school at the moment but the management of them drives me nuts, updating them, ensuring they're all on the MDM, etc.. I think children learn more from a Windows device than they do from an iPad.

 

On top of that, I've been looking at leasing options but it seems more expensive to lease the devices than it does to purchase them yourself. For example, an iPad Mini 7.9" 64GB - 5th GEN with accidental cover and warranty for the 3 years is costing £506. To purchase brand new, they're roughly £370.

 

Any advice or solutions you have in place in your schools would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Kyle

[Bev]

We have a 1-1 iPad leasing scheme, it is more expensice to buy them with accidental damage and warranty as you are paying for 3 years accidental damage cover. If you price that up, it works out a comparable price.

 

Our parents lease the iPads, and they all have the insurance and warranty in place, but any iPads that we own as a school I buy directly and we don't take out insurance on those, opting to take the risk. I will say that of the leased iPads that go home, I send at least 1 a week back to be repaired / replaced due to a broken screen so the insurance has proved worthwhile.

 

I have used both Surface Pros and iPads, and would definitely recommend iPads. They are pretty easy to manage using an MDM, if you buy them through a lease they will be in the DEP program and will pick up the MDM automatically, you can set them to update automatically, push out apps etc. I wouldn't use Word though, if you are going to use iPads, you have to embrace them and use their apps. Either use Pages, or we have fully embraced Google and use Google Docs (app) for most things.

 

The Surface Pros that I used (a few years ago) were very heavy, and expensive, and I had lots of issues with them, and that was just with staff using them.

 

 

We started with 1 year group, and now have every child and staff members using their own iPad. If you want any more information just let me know.

[Ditto]

Ipads per child seems a luxury, but they have a good reputation for being reasonably tough. My experience with Surface pros, albeit with staff and secondary kids was that they were less robust - we had one that had been bent into a perfect double curve bend, the sort of shape you'd get with sitting on it! Keyboards were lightweight too. I'd suggest also looking at a rugged touch screen Chromebook - you'll find the management of those a doddle compared to iPads. Will the devices be staying in school or will the pupils be able to take them home?

[KASIT97]

Thanks for the reply Bev!

 

You say parents lease the iPads, so are parents footing that cost? what supplier are you using and which device are they using and at what cost?

 

Ditto, I'm not sure on that at the moment. I don't see it being an issue them going home as we'd have warranty and damage protection, the children could use them from home to do their homework and extra learning so win-win I guess.

 

Thanks both!

[Ditto]

The other thing to consider if they are going home and if they remain owned by the school, is the internet filtering/monitoring question. There are a few threads discussing this, but looking at Securly would be a good starter. The Chromebook/Securly mix is something that was used for primary kids at one school I worked, although as a rule, they were 1-1 in classroom only, but generally it worked well.

[Bev]

Thanks for the reply Bev!

 

You say parents lease the iPads, so are parents footing that cost? what supplier are you using and which device are they using and at what cost?

 

Ditto, I'm not sure on that at the moment. I don't see it being an issue them going home as we'd have warranty and damage protection, the children could use them from home to do their homework and extra learning so win-win I guess.

 

Thanks both!

 

Our parents have 3 options, they can lease an ipad, they can provide their own iPad (which we supervise and add to our MDM) or they can opt out and we provide a school iPad. School iPads can't go home. We have very few who opt out.

We offer a subsidy to PP students.

 

Lease costs are:

iPad (2020 8th Generation) 32GB £14.11 * 36 months

iPad (2020 8th Generation) 128GB £17.25 * 36 months

iPad Mini 64GB £17.38 * 36 months

 

This includes 3 years insurance and extended warranty. Our school operates for 4 years, so they continue to use the iPad in their 4th year but it is no longer insured in the final year.

 

They were a godsend during lockdown as every child already had a device, and the same type of device, so there were minimal issues with children having access to technology to complete remote work.

 

In order to make it work, and not just be a 'luxury' then teachers have to be on board and change the way they teach so that the iPads become an integral part of the process.

 

We use Jigsaw24 who work with CPU for the insurance and direct debit side of things.

[KASIT97]

Bev, you are a godsend!

 

So after the 3 year period, does the school then own those iPads are do you have to send them back and then you start a new contract?

[Bev]

Just to add we used Chromebooks before we got the iPads, they weren't 1-1, we just had a class set. They are very easy to manage, as in once they are setup you never need to think about them again. We mainly used them for Google Docs / Drive etc and they are great for that, but more limited in terms of what else you can do with them. If you can access something from a browser or chrome extension then you can use it on a chromebook, but you can't take photos / make videos etc.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

Bev, you are a godsend!

 

So after the 3 year period, does the school then own those iPads are do you have to send them back and then you start a new contract?

 

We pay a final balance and then the parent owns them as they have been making the payments.

[KASIT97]

Thanks for the info!

 

Just to be nosey, are you in the primary or secondary sector? and which area?

[Bev]

We are a middle school in North Tyneside.

[KASIT97]

Gotcha! We're a primary based in Birmingham.

 

Well, thanks again for your help! I've just joined today but will be sticking about, so may speak again!

[Bev]

It's a great forum, it has helped me many times over the years.

[MkII]

They were a godsend during lockdown as every child already had a device, and the same type of device, so there were minimal issues with children having access to technology to complete remote work.

 

Thanks for all of the great info @Bev

 

We're in a rural area and lots of kids have no broadband access at all. What we have to do with those kids is physically swap USB stacks with work between home and school.

 

How would/ does that work with iPads?

 

Thanks

[Bev]

If they have no internet access, then that's going to be a problem. You can't easily use a USB stick with an iPad. We did have a very few children who used mobile phones to download work, worked offline and then reconnected to upload, but if you have no internet access at all, then I'd maybe look at another solution. IPads are very much an 'online' device.

[StoneGroup_JackW]

Hi all, providing you can get mobile phone signal, we can supply sim cards with a rolling data plan in each month. With a 4g router. All you need then is a device with wifi and cellular, and will work fine.

 

More information is here, should you need it

 

https://www.stonegroup.co.uk/stone-e-learning-hub/

[MkII]

Nope no phone signal. We were provided with mobile broadband dongles by Welsh Government - useless in a lot of cases.

[MkII]

If they have no internet access, then that's going to be a problem. You can't easily use a USB stick with an iPad. We did have a very few children who used mobile phones to download work, worked offline and then reconnected to upload, but if you have no internet access at all, then I'd maybe look at another solution. IPads are very much an 'online' device.

 

I was wondering if they could save locally - bring the devices to school to upload homework and download the next set work that this might work?

[Bev]

That very much depends on what apps you use, if you are using pages / keynote etc, then that might work. We use the google apps which do have an offline function but are definitely designed to be used online.

We also use a lot of websites such as HegartyMaths or Spelling Shed, these won't work offline. That would be an issue with any device though.

[Brimstone]

Hi all,

 

My first post here, so hopefully I'm in the right place for this.

 

I work at a Primary School where the headteacher is looking to deploy devices to children on either a 1:1 basis or 1:2.

 

He wants iPads and I would prefer Surface Pro's or something of the like. My first question, which devices would you deploy for the purpose of children using them in class to engage with lessons? and to be able to access things like MyON Readers, TTRockstars, Word, etc.. We have some iPads in school at the moment but the management of them drives me nuts, updating them, ensuring they're all on the MDM, etc.. I think children learn more from a Windows device than they do from an iPad.

 

On top of that, I've been looking at leasing options but it seems more expensive to lease the devices than it does to purchase them yourself. For example, an iPad Mini 7.9" 64GB - 5th GEN with accidental cover and warranty for the 3 years is costing £506. To purchase brand new, they're roughly £370.

 

Any advice or solutions you have in place in your schools would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Kyle

I'd also strongly recommend working with an Apple Authorised Education Specialist (AAES) of which Jigsaw are one. These resellers have passed strict criteria by Apple to get this certified status.

 

They can help support you with the critical right advice before you start buying iPads for vision, planning for teaching and learning, finance options teacher CPD and ensuring your infastructure in school to ensure mobile learning will work and be a success.

 

Link to AAES resellers are below..

 

https://www.apple.com/uk/education/how-to-buy/education-specialist/

[KASIT97]

Bev, what MDM are you using?

 

I currently use Meraki but would need to pay for it if we were to use more devices.

[Bev]

I am in the process of moving from Lightspeed to JAMF but if you are happy with Meraki then I would stick with it.

 

If you need a free option, then you could look at Mosyle.

[Brimstone]

I am in the process of moving from Lightspeed to JAMF but if you are happy with Meraki then I would stick with it.

 

If you need a free option, then you could look at Mosyle.

 

Unless you are paying for Meraki I would steer well clear of it, why? Meraki features are not updated with the latest Apple tools so you can not;

 

Device assign apps to iPads you have to go down the long winded path of creation of Apple ID's for every iPad to assign them, which as Apple do not whitelist schools any longer becomes an impossible task.

Meraki does not work with Apple Classroom, a really critical tool for teachers to use for classroom management of iPads

[Bev]

I don't know about Apple Classroom but you can definitely device assign apps using Meraki, I used it that way for many years.

[Katy]

Unless you are paying for Meraki I would steer well clear of it, why? Meraki features are not updated with the latest Apple tools so you can not;

 

Device assign apps to iPads you have to go down the long winded path of creation of Apple ID's for every iPad to assign them, which as Apple do not whitelist schools any longer becomes an impossible task.

Meraki does not work with Apple Classroom, a really critical tool for teachers to use for classroom management of iPads

Depends which free version of Meraki you have. The first one (free unlimited devices) isn't updated, but the later "free for 100 devices" is - we're on this up to 100 device plan and can device assign apps without messing about with Apple IDs etc.

[Brimstone]

Depends which free version of Meraki you have. The first one (free unlimited devices) isn't updated, but the later "free for 100 devices" is - we're on this up to 100 device plan and can device assign apps without messing about with Apple IDs etc.

This might be fine , but when you want more iPads that takes you to over 100 x devices have you tried to get a quote from them, you may fall off your chair at the price.