How do you: Differentiate control over iPad/tablets in school vs home?

[howartp]

Hello!

 

So we're a school of 1800 students.

 

~1500 have school iPads on a 3-year scheme, supervised and managed by MDM/DEP

~300 have personal BYOD devices, primarily Apple/Android.

 

Student-to-student messaging is on a huge upwards climb at the moment, since we returned from lockdown. Students are obviously using their devices significantly more due to Covid, but this means iMessage/Messenger/Snapchat/etc are popping up 24/7 during the lesson.

 

About 3 weeks ago, we blocked iMessage via the MDM, and soon after we used "Hide the following apps" to remove Facebook, Messenger, Snapchat and half a dozen random messaging apps.

 

That obviously hasn't gone down too well as it remains applied at home in the evening/weekend/holidays.

 

What do your schools do?

 

• Time-based profiles?
  
• Onsite (*inc cloud-based) firewall/filter for Wifi traffic
  
• Global firewall/proxy (ie school devices controlled 24/7)
  
• This is a behaviour issue, not a technical one?
  
• Other?
  
• 
  

[tmoon-mint]

Dont have this issue personally but if I did the MDM we use (Mosyle) has the ability to set time based policies. I would be using this to prevent access to these apps during lessons.

[Jamman960]

What’s the problem with it being applied at home also? If they’re school devices their core purpose should surely be education or do the parents technically own them? We don’t allow pupils to install their own apps and disable iMessage.

 

With Jamf school we’re able to apply policy’s based upon time or location

[Brimstone]

The Time Based Profile API in most MDM’s is a bit broke at the moment, there are plenty of schools being sold down this river that want a BYOD with management at school and then release the device whilst at home. I’ve had quite a few schools that have ditched Moysle as the time based profiles never worked at all.

 

For me this can lead to problems because unless the school has a very robust AUP agreement that covers all sorts of images, screenshots etc that parents sign you’re likely to see something on a student iPad that can cause all sorts of safeguarding issues.

 

Personally devices in any type of scheme should be managed and filtered whether in school or not.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Brimstone