TechSupp Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 How do schools manage iPads in school as far as adding apps and keeping them in synch with apps etc. My school is just starting with them and have asked the question...or rather they said heres an iPad what do we do! I assume we have to have itunes on a PC but can all the iPads be set to sync with the same copy of iTunes and what about setting up iTunes as it normally asks for payment details even if you only want to download free items from it. Any answers or hints welcome.
Davit2005 Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 Think I read some where that the new OSX server has some management tools for iPhone IOS devices similar to Blackberry so have a look. It might encompass iPads too.
AngryITGuy Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 We have about 50 iPads in school mostly used by staff. They are all linked to the same iTunes account and are updated from a computer in my office, when creating the iTunes account you do get the option not to add any payment details we have done this and fund the account using gift vouchers. I'm the only one with access to the iTunes account staff use the 'Tell A Friend" link in the app store to let me know of any apps they want downloading, I download them and sync the device either via the computer or over wifi. The iTunes account is linked to the bursars email address so she gets copies of the iTunes receipts so there is a paper trail for all the money we spend. All the devices are locked down using the iPhone Configuration Utility and out policy states that members of staff are not permitted to syncing the device to a personal iTunes account and that only educational apps are installed and for what it's worth they are all tracked via Find My iPhone tool. It works well here, staff did complain about not having SkyGo, Angry Birds amongst other things on the devices but soon got use to the fact that they are a teaching tool and not a toy for them. 4
enjay Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 staff did complain about not having SkyGo, Angry Birds amongst other things on the devices but soon got use to the fact that they are a teaching tool and not a toy for them. Interesting point. You wouldn't mind them using the BBC iPlayer (except for it being Flash-based, of course) so why not SkyGo too?
AngryITGuy Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 Interesting point. You wouldn't mind them using the BBC iPlayer (except for it being Flash-based, of course) so why not SkyGo too? We don't even allow iPlayer at the moment, but that might be changing soon. With regards to the likes of SkyGo it highly likely that access to such an app would only end up being abused.
nawbus Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 I'm the only one with access to the iTunes account staff use the 'Tell A Friend" link in the app store to let me know of any apps they want downloading, I download them and sync the device either via the computer or over wifi. The iTunes account is linked to the bursars email address so she gets copies of the iTunes receipts so there is a paper trail for all the money we spend. All the devices are locked down using the iPhone Configuration Utility and out policy states that members of staff are not permitted to syncing the device to a personal iTunes account and that only educational apps are installed and for what it's worth they are all tracked via Find My iPhone tool. That sounds great. Can you push out individual apps to specific iPads or does every app bought / downloaded have to go every iPad? Also, if you want an app to go to 50 iPads, do you have to buy the app 50 times? Cheers
SW-ICT Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 The best way to manage iPads in schools... Dont buy them!
enjay Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 With regards to the likes of SkyGo it highly likely that access to such an app would only end up being abused. The same could be said of an Internet connection - staff could use it to access a wealth of teaching resources or they could spend the day on Facebook, checking email, etc. It comes down to trust and the staff members' professionalism.
steveg Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 We have about 50 iPads in school mostly used by staff. Do you have the option in itunes to purchase 50 copies of the same app then? Or how do you go about this? Steve
jcollings Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 Interesting point. You wouldn't mind them using the BBC iPlayer (except for it being Flash-based, of course) so why not SkyGo too? The BBC iplayer app isn't flash based and works a treat on the iPad 1
AngryITGuy Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 That sounds great. Can you push out individual apps to specific iPads or does every app bought / downloaded have to go every iPad? Also, if you want an app to go to 50 iPads, do you have to buy the app 50 times? Cheers Unfortunately you can't push out individual apps to specify iPads, thought the iCloud based service would do that but it's either all the apps or none of them! At the moment we manage it manually, downloading the app then syncing the required devices. As far as I am aware there isn't any way of purchasing multiple copies of an App, if you try and purchase on you have already bought you just get the option to download it, meaning at the moment we buy the app once and install it on how ever many devices require it.
AngryITGuy Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) The same could be said of an Internet connection - staff could use it to access a wealth of teaching resources or they could spend the day on Facebook, checking email, etc. It comes down to trust and the staff members' professionalism. Does that mean you trust the staff in your school completely? Yes the same can be said for an internet connection which is why most schools have a web filter in place, and your right it does come down to the professionalism and management of staff but what you have to realise is each school is different and will choose manage staff in their own way. Just cos we don't allow SkyGo and Angry Birds on our school iPads doesn't mean other schools should do the same, we chose to manage it this way initially to keep the focus on the iPads for teaching purposes, more than likely in the future we will become more lenient with regards to the apps. Edited November 8, 2011 by AngryITGuy
enjay Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 We do have a web filter in place, however staff access is not heavily impeded (in the Secondary School anyway, the Primary teachers are more restricted because of projector use). I totally agree with not installing Angry Birds as that is purely recreational, however I would install iPlayer, SkyGo, etc and YouTube then leave it to the staff members' professional to not misuse these (using logs, remote viewing, etc to ensure that it is being used responsibly and then pass any concerns to SLT to handle). As you say, however, this is what I would do in this school and I don't mean to suggest that you're wrong to take the line you have, I just wanted to raise the point that it isn't always as simple as saying "this is a teaching tool" or "this is a recreational tool", as there are things which people could legitimately want but also abuse - it is evident you've gone down that line of thinking already, though.
enjay Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 Does that mean you trust the staff in your school completely? No, but I do believe in giving them the tools they need. For example, staff have largely unfiltered Internet access so they can access all the sites they need for lesson preparation and teaching, plus their own personal interests, BUT they do not have administrative rights on their computers as they don't need them in order to do their jobs (it is my job to manage software installs, ensure licence compliance, software compatibility etc, and to understand the technical aspects and implications of this in a way that one would not expect of a teacher). That works here, but I do acknowledge that it might not be appropriate or desirable in other schools.
TechSupp Posted November 8, 2011 Author Posted November 8, 2011 That was my initial reaction as the online educational activities site they bought in to is flash based! but hey, what do I know! Anyway thanks for the replies. They also bought kindles but hey why have a library as well, but they still went ahead.
GrumbleDook Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 It may not answer everything you are looking at but have a read of this article. Think … erm … Different (part 2) | GrumbleDook Thinks
Outlook Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 I have just started using few iPads for my primary school. I have created an itunes account without giving any credit card detail and same account has been used on the other iPads because I wanted to use free educational apps for teaching and learning. Kids have controlled access to the Internet. I have downloaded 100s of free apps on one iPad then copied over to other ipads so all the ipads have got the same apps. Kids don't have deletion and installation rights. I hope this is helpful. If you need more help please feel free to contact me.
enjay Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 They also bought kindles but hey why have a library as well, but they still went ahead. Do you actually mean that? By the same measure, Victorian schools which had slates and chalk shouldn't have invested in pens and paper... A move to Kindles is not without merit. They are cheaper - Kindle books are often cheaper than print, you can put one book on 5 devices, there's loads of free books, and they won't need replacing as often because they won't get damaged. They are also lighter for students to carry around. You need to think about how to update them all, and how to manage the auto-sync so that people don't keep losing their places when sharing an account, but it is do-able.
nawbus Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 As far as I am aware there isn't any way of purchasing multiple copies of an App, if you try and purchase on you have already bought you just get the option to download it, meaning at the moment we buy the app once and install it on how ever many devices require it. Doesn't that lead to all sorts of licensing issues?
AngryITGuy Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 Doesn't that lead to all sorts of licensing issues? This is how we were told to do it when we purchased the devices from an Apple Authorised Reseller, Apple are aware of this workaround and will no doubt plug it with their Volume Bulk Purchase Program which is only available in the US at the moment.
TechSupp Posted November 9, 2011 Author Posted November 9, 2011 I have just started using few iPads for my primary school. I have created an itunes account without giving any credit card detail and same account has been used on the other iPads because I wanted to use free educational apps for teaching and learning. Kids have controlled access to the Internet. I have downloaded 100s of free apps on one iPad then copied over to other ipads so all the ipads have got the same apps. Kids don't have deletion and installation rights. I hope this is helpful. If you need more help please feel free to contact me. You say kids dont have deletion/install rights, how is that done?
AngryITGuy Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 You say kids dont have deletion/install rights, how is that done? It's all done using the iPhone Configuration Utility
AngryITGuy Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 We do have a web filter in place, however staff access is not heavily impeded (in the Secondary School anyway, the Primary teachers are more restricted because of projector use). I totally agree with not installing Angry Birds as that is purely recreational, however I would install iPlayer, SkyGo, etc and YouTube then leave it to the staff members' professional to not misuse these (using logs, remote viewing, etc to ensure that it is being used responsibly and then pass any concerns to SLT to handle). As you say, however, this is what I would do in this school and I don't mean to suggest that you're wrong to take the line you have, I just wanted to raise the point that it isn't always as simple as saying "this is a teaching tool" or "this is a recreational tool", as there are things which people could legitimately want but also abuse - it is evident you've gone down that line of thinking already, though. You're right it isn't that simple and I understand that there will be legitimate reasons for using certain apps and these reasons will usually outweigh the possibility of abuse of the app and it all comes down to staff management which is something I don't have any control over. The problem with the iPads is that they are notoriously difficult to monitor once locked down and setup you can't remote view them (or at least not to my knowledge), you only get to see the logs via the iPhone Configuration Utility and even that doesn't tell you much! We will be looking to setup a class set of the devices soon and I could really do with finding an app that password protects apps in folders.
enjay Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 you can't remote view them (or at least not to my knowledge) RealVNC - VNC® Viewer for iOS lets you control a PC from an iPad, so there may well be something which goes the other way... you only get to see the logs via the iPhone Configuration Utility and even that doesn't tell you much! Could you not capture it at the proxy server and log it there?
ict_support Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 Main Problem we have with the iPads is each app requires a different port to connect to the Internet etc also the iPads don't support NTML authentication so we are having to filter by IP for the iPads
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