We travel to Lapland, near the Arctic Circle, for the most recent episode of Jamf Breakfast Club, our web series bringing you real-life interviews with educators on the leading edge of education trends and best practices for creating transformative digital learning environments.
Host Mat Pullen, Jamf Education Product Marketing Manager, is joined by Sari Lantoo, Headteacher and Apple Distinguished Educator from Ylitornion Yhteiskoulun Lukio School in Finland and Rachel Smith, Learning Specialist and Apple Distinguished Educator from Showbie to share their firsthand experience with using iPads and Showbie in the classroom.
During her 21-year tenure as the school principal, Lantoo has overseen the positive impact of technology and was recently gratified to see the school be recognized as an Apple Distinguished School. Key to their success: Using the right technology.
Choosing tools that just work
Students at this small, private upper secondary school on the border of Finland and Sweden have enjoyed a digital learning environment for the past 10 years, using iPads as their main learning tool since 2013.
From the beginning, they looked to Jamf to provide the best mobile device management (MDM) solution, starting with Jamf Pro, then moving to Jamf School when it was introduced to Finland. For Lantoo, Jamf’s ease of use is critical. “I’m not a technical person, I don’t have any IT background, we don’t have any IT staff or support at school so I have to learn how to use it independently.”
Her verdict on Jamf School: “It’s really, really easy to use… It works in the background, we don’t really notice Jamf as an MDM system when it just works, it’s there, it’s doing what it’s supposed to do.”
The other key tool for creating their best learning environment: using Showbie. “It works seamlessly and perfectly in a 1:1 iPad environment like ours,” says Lantoo. “We’ve never even tried any other app since first trying it in 2014, because we’ve been so happy with it.”
What does Showbie offer educators? As Smith notes, Showbie was built as an iPad app, with a super flexible platform that allows you to add any kind of file type into your system. “It enables a teacher to teach the way they want to teach, and a student to learn the way they want to learn.”
Most of all, it’s simple to learn how to use, so even a person who really hates technology can get on board.”
Working even better together
Of course, the end goal is to create a learning environment that works for both teachers and students.
With Jamf School working in the background as their MDM, educators actively use the Jamf Teacher App to run their classroom, to create lessons, restrict access to apps or functions when necessary, and even make changes remotely. At the same time, Showbie provides the framework for their digital classroom.
“From our teachers distributing learning materials to students communicating, collaborating, and giving feedback - both voice and written - everything happens inside of Showbie,” says Lantoo.
The list of uses for Jamf and Showbie continues to grow, from teaching, learning, administration – even building community. And perhaps an unexpected benefit – the differentiation and personalization that technology can allow.
With the ability to give students individual voice feedback, or written notes, teachers can continue to provide students with a personal touch, even in a digital world. As Pullen notes, “When schools buy into technology, the tools can be used in a very broad way.”
For many more insights into the details and benefits of a digital classroom, check out the full Jamf Breakfast club session below.
Watch the full webinar to learn more about a successful digital classroom.
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