How to Manage and Setup iPads in the Classroom

iPads and iPhones are used widely in education today because of the ubiquity of mobile devices and the introduction of the concept of blended learning. In addition, Apple has been releasing user-friendly apps very frequently and millennials & the iGen are growing up with smartphones, in fact, most of them do not even remember the time before the internet. iGen already has an Instagram account even before they start high school. iGen’s firstborn members were early teenagers when the iPhone was introduced in 2007, and high-school students when the iPad was introduced in 2010.

Thus, more and more schools, colleges, and universities have already started to leverage mobile technology in the classroom by using iPads to enhance the learning experience and create a collaborative learning environment irrespective of the time and location of the students and the instructors.

But, along with the advantages which technology provides us, there are various pitfalls as well. Consumer devices can be misused by the students and staff for various other purposes besides the educational purpose and hence the core objective of the institute may get lost. Hence, to avoid pitfalls, it becomes imperative for the institutes to deploy the right Mobile Device Management Solution and lockdown iPad.

Again, teachers always want the ability to see the student’s screen in the lockdown mode and to have a certain educational app on their devices, which would help them in educating the students. However, teachers do not have time to indulge in the technology, hence they need a centralized system by which they can get their content pushed to their student’s iPad and collaborate with them easily.

Step by Step Guide on Setting up iPads for Classroom Use

1. Decide the Actual Use of iPads 

To understand how to go about managing iPads in the classroom, it is important to first consider how you are going to put iPads to use to encourage learning. Having a clear goal on how the educators will teach using iPads and what the students will be doing with them will ease the whole purchase process. Asking the following questions can help decide the use of iPads:

• Will each student have a personal iPad or do you plan to keep a set of devices which always dedicated in one classroom?
• What kind of apps do you wish to push on the devices?
• Do you want the students to receive e-mails on the devices?

2. Register for Apple School Manager (ASM) 

If you wish to deploy iPads in school for all your students, you will need a dedicated solution that can help with managing all the involved workload involved. Apple School Manager is a management tool that can help authorities with the following tasks:

• Manage student accounts
• Implementing content filtering 
• Integrate devices with existing IT infrastructure effortlessly

ASM is available free of cost and you can quickly register for it. IT admins at an educational institution can simply enroll into ASM online in just a few easy steps. All they need to do is fill out the corresponding fields. After that, Apple will verify the input information within 5 days.

3. Device Enrollment Program (DEP)

Once the first two steps are clear, it is now time to purchase the devices. There are many iPad models and memory sizes available in the market. When using it for educational purposes, authorities need not pick a model that has the maximum amount of storage space. Storage of 64GB should be sufficient. Educational institutes don’t need to shell out a lot of money to purchase an iPad Pro either.

But when purchasing the iPads, it is highly recommended that you directly buy them from Apple or a certified reseller to enjoy special conditions, especially for educational purposes. By making direct purchases, you get to enjoy DEP devices.

With Apple’s Device Enrollment Program (DEP) administrators can pre-provision iOS and macOS devices so that they can automatically self-enroll into Systems Manager before touching them. DEP helps school IT admins connect directly to the ASM account, hence saving time. 

4. Get a Suitable Mobile Device Management Solution

Most times, ASM is not enough for managing all your iPads. For this, you will need a mobile device management (MDM) solution, like Scalefusion.

Mobile device management solution comes with the following set of benefits:

• Reduce hours that go into manually implementing configurations, installing apps, managing student accounts and updating software. 
• Streamline or automates all workflows using a centralized dashboard
• Remote troubleshooting and putting a parental lock on all devices 

Scalefusion MDM offers comprehensive controls for configuring and administering school-owned devices. It can lock down iPad into kiosk/single app mode or multi-app mode and ensures restrictions on the usage of the devices with iPad Kiosk App. Scalefusion offers a free 14-day trial. 

For managing iPads in the classroom using the Scalefusion iOS MDM, you will need the following details, to begin with:

1. Apple ID – Preferably the corporate or organization ID
2. Signup for Scalefusion account
3. An iOS supervised device 

To understand the complete Scalefusion enrollment process step by step, go to this iOS enrollment process

5. The Final Set up

If you are using DEP devices, then rest assured because all your devices have already been enrolled in the ASM and connected to your MDM provider. When you switch on the iPads, the basic first steps will appear on the screen. Follow through until you come across the remote management option.

After this, the iPad will quickly retrieve the information that you entered into your MDM solution. With all the configurations you implemented, the deployment process will have become automated, and now the IT team can manage all the iPads remotely with ease. When school authorities decide to hand out iPads to students, students simply need to enter their username and password. All the apps and documents will be rolled out to the device with all restrictions properly implemented.

Here are 5 important benefits of locking down iPad in educational institutes!

iPads in the classrooms enable blended learning which is a part of modern education and revolutionizing the learning methodology. Scalefusion – iPad management software for schools helps institutes to implement this new concept in the best possible manner. Let’s go through some of its important benefits –

1. Empower teachers & focused students – When iPads are used by the students in the classroom, it is critical to ensure that students don’t lose focus. Teachers can decide which all educational applications, eBooks or websites should be available and accessible on the device by the students. And this list of accessible content is an effective tool for teachers to better engage the students and enforce restrictions to other irrelevant content to avoid distractions. IT admin and/or the teachers can access the student device screen remotely to better monitor student activities and even provide real-time support.
2. Organize students and staff – All the school-owned devices given to the students as well as staff can be managed, controlled and organized from a central web-based console. Apps, content, remote location tracking, virtual fencing of the devices, enforcing security features, are managed centrally by the IT admin. iPads lockdown means turning iPads into kiosk/single app or the multi-app mode according to the school’s requirements.
3. Centralized Content Repository – In educational institutes, content is very critical. It must be uploaded on time, updated regularly and different content must be pushed to respective students and teachers.
4. Better collaboration among students and teachers – The devices can be grouped based on different grades, so the teacher can administer all the activities of the students and collaborate effectively with the help of the Eva messenger app
5. Safeguarding student’s data – Students’ data related to their test scores, project work, will be protected as security is the top concern for the schools and that is met only by the right MDM solution. Students use the school-owned devices inside as well as outside the classroom as well as the school. Hence, Scalefusion ensures that student’s data remain safe irrespective of whether the device is accessed from home or school, and even when an iPad is stolen or lost, with the help of Lost Mode.

Conclusion

Scalefusion makes managing iPads in the classroom easier. Teachers and IT admins can manage all the tablets and smartphones which are used in teaching & learning from the central web console i.e. dashboard and make use of devices easier and effortless. From the dashboard, IT admins can push settings and apps to the devices remotely. This makes a comprehensive solution to manage all the school-owned devices and make learning and education interactive and innovative.