Jamf Blog
June 8, 2017 by Daniel Weber

Evolution of iPad management in education

Discover how Apple education features positively impact the classroom and learn how to get the most out of these capabilities with mobile device management (MDM).

From its inception, Apple has focused on students in the classroom. In the 1980s, Steve Jobs went so far as to work with Congress in California to make it easier for businesses to donate computers to schools. And Apple did its part by donating more than 9,000 Apple II computers to districts in the state.

Fast-forward to 2010 and Apple made it even easier to utilize technology for education by introducing the iPad. While iPad was a fantastic device right out of the gate, tools to manage these new devices and operating system were very basic. Management was a manual and hands-on process, and there weren’t easy ways to scale up from a handful of iPads.

Despite some of the early challenges, classrooms began seeing the tremendous educational value that iPads offered through access to a world of apps and resources.

But as five iPads turned into 50, and then 500, IT began to ask questions and search for answers on:

  • How to deploy and purchase apps?
  • What’s our school’s Apple ID strategy?
  • How are we going to update devices and software?
  • What’s our overall device management strategy?

Mobile device management to the rescue
Only three months after the release of the iPad, Apple answered many of these questions with mobile device management (MDM). MDM is a framework that Apple built into iOS (iPad and iPhone operating system) that allows companies like Jamf to build tools to manage devices by simplifying:

  • Device setup
  • Inventory collection
  • iPad settings
  • App deployment
  • Data security

Advancements in education
With iOS 9.3, Apple unveiled education-altering features: Apple School Manager, Personalized Shared iPad, Classroom app and Managed Apple IDs.

How do these features impact students, teachers and IT, and how does MDM play into all of this?

Watch this video to get educated on the education capabilities of Apple and MDM.

Photo of Daniel Weber
Daniel Weber
Jamf
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