iPads in Education

[Fred Bartels]

This is a discussion to share ideas and questions about using the iPad in schools. 

To get things started here are few questions.

Has anyone heard anything from Apple about ways to easily allow multiple purchases and easy distribution of iPad apps? 

What about imaging iPads?

(Maybe these questions have already been addressed at schools using sets of iPod Touches?)

Are there are any web sites out there devoted to exploring how to using iPads in education?

Looking forward to lively discussions on this topic.

Fred

[Fred Bartels]

One of our librarians came up with an interesting idea this morning. She wondered if we couldn't put a bunch of videos on an iPad and loan that out instead of the actual DVDs and VHS tapes. There are some copyright issues but as more and more video becomes available via iTunes and other digital sources, and as the memory capacity of iPads increases, this might be a nice solution.

[Kerri Richardson-Redding]

Videos pre-loaded on the iPad, iPad as media distribution device- sounds like a great idea.

 

We are VERY excited by the many bluetooth keyboard/case combinations that are appearing.  We've just ordered a few of these bluetooth keyboard/cases:

 

Is anyone thinking of issuing iPads instead of netbooks or laptops for their schools for next year? We are in conversation about this now. I'd like to speak with anyone who is considering something similar-

 

 

[Jenni Voorhees]

We are writing a grant to purchase 10 iPads to develop a tech component in our Kindergartens. As a pilot, there would be 8 iPads for small group work (shared between two classes during the pilot), with two for administrators to work on.

 

Fred, did you get an answer about how many iPads can share an app? I thought it might be 5, since that is the number of computers you can sync music too as well. I am thinking I would set up two Macs with iTunes accounts and assign 5 iPads to each. I think I want to control the app downloads so they are all the same, at least for the pilot year. Am I crazy?

Thanks for this discussion . Very helpful!!

Anyone else using iPads in Kindergarten??

Jenni

[Dave Wingler]

In collaboration with INKids in Australia, I put together an app game that allows for the educator to customize content.  The target was originally for my junior and senior high ESL classes here in Japan but it really suits kids from 4 to 8 if they are language learning.  The best part of the app is the ability of the teacher to customize content so that children can play the game with images (and text) that the teacher chooses.  Of course I'm plugging my own app here ;)  but I looked all around and there was nothing like it- where kids could A) interact with partners while studying and B) teachers could customize an app to support their existing curricula. 

 

Please have a look at "Futaba" and see if you'd be able to use it.

 

http://itunes.apple.com/app/futaba-word-games-for-kids/id426517722?...

 

Dave

 

[Alecia Berman-Dry]

How did this go, one year later, Jenni?

[Paul Way]

We are looking at them pretty seriously - Our US Visual Art dept put in a request for some laptops for next year, but I may try to convince them to use iPads instead.  Since they primarily use them to seek out visual images for use in class, the iPad seemed like a cheaper and more appropriate tool.  The drawing tools available on the iPad are a lot of fun too!  I asked our Apple rep a few weeks ago about how to sync multiple devices, but received no response.

[Fred Bartels]

Has anyone found a good way to manage a set of iPads without having just one 'home' computer they are synced to? We have a situation where a set of iPads belonging to our library is being used in an after school club and the teacher running that club would like to be able to add apps from one of her classroom computers. My experiments seem to indicate that this is not possible as syncing to a different computer causes all the apps on the iPad to be replaced by the apps on the new computer. Am I missing some other possible way of doing this?

 

Thanks,  Fred

[Matt Montagne]

same challenge here, Fred. We manage the seven that we have for check-out from one iTunes account. It is extraordinarily cumbersome.

 

We also have a challenge when the iPads are returned...they are often loaded up with personal information and data from the users. 

 

I really want to steer our school community away from using iPads in the same way that we use other community resources like laptops, but I'm just not sure how to get there...

[Demetri Orlando]

I'm late to the conversation, so perhaps this was previously mentioned, but does the Casper tool from JAMF address these questions?

[Curt Lieneck]

Demetri,

 

We will be digging deep into this this summer in terms of what Casper can and can't do with iPads. If you run across anyone else who can flatten out the learning curve for us, do let me know. Thanks.

 

[Tim Cooper]

We just started using Caspar so we are gaining knowledge but noobs at present. It is a great way to distribute licenses through the volume purchase program easily (you basically get an app store of your own, though it just passes the licenses. You can organize people into groups, so they only see the apps appropriate for them to install. It can remote wipe, erase passcodes, lock.

[Alex Ragone]

I know that Bill Stites at MKA has been using Caspar with iPads...  Tim's comments make me want to go out and get it!