Talking to your school about the accessibility and benefits of Jamf Parent

We at Jamf are firm believers that devices are no longer a luxury or simply a “cool way to learn”. Mobile devices and technology are fundamental to a child’s future and success as they grow older. We believe everyone in the world deserves access to these tools when they are learning and that is likely why your school has made a considerable investment in devices.

But what about when the device comes home for learning and they don’t have the same guidelines they have in the classroom with their teachers? How do parents make sure their child is using the device how they are supposed to be used? Ensuring their child has a healthy relationship with devices is tough, and we believe many parents would agree, but it doesn’t have to be. Talk to your school about Jamf Parent and the “Parent App”.

Jamf Parent is a free iOS and watchOS app that empowers parents to manage their children’s school-issued devices. Parents can restrict which apps children can access on their devices, receive notifications when a child arrives at school and schedule homework time or bedtime to allow or restrict certain apps. With our release of watchOS compatibility, our goal is to make Jamf Parent accessible where and when parents want it to be.

All of this has many functional purposes and benefits – we want to be here to help you both understand them and convey them to your school or fellow parents. Here are a few:

1. Creating a focused, learning environment at home

In class, students are in that true classroom setting with a teacher teaching a lesson and fellow students making it easier for them to understand it is time to learn. For many kids, using a device at home likely doesn’t have the same feeling. After all, many kids may feel as though when they have their device at home, it’s the time they get to play games, watch videos, or use apps that would otherwise distract them from their schoolwork.

Using Jamf Parents, you can create that focused, learning environment by restricting access to apps that aren’t needed for learning and schedule set studying times with simple toggles and timers. This helps extend the classroom “feel and structure” they are comfortable with into their life at home.

2. Helps parents, teachers, child, and school achieve educational goals

With just as much reliance on learning at home as in the classroom and relatively strict educational goals being put in place around children’s advancement, helping parents provide the learning environment mentioned above makes life easier on parents and helps kids learn undistracted, which makes teacher’s lives easier when it comes to moving through material. All of this helps the student body as a whole achieve the level of learning that schools are hoping for.

3. Helps parents feel their child is protected

For many parents, giving their child access to devices is scary. Yes, it is necessary to their learning, but if unprotected, it can open children up to content parents don’t want their children viewing – on purpose or accident. Jamf Parent allows parents to have some insight into how devices are being used and access to shape that usage positively.

4. Can create structure and a sense of reward

Most kids thrive in structure and some kids benefit from the feeling of being rewarded for their work. It’s good for them to learn that they get benefits from completing their work. With this in mind, parents are able to create an environment where their child is granted access to apps outside of their schoolwork after achieving certain goals – completing study time, finishing all their homework, or just simply earning a break. With how easy it is to set toggle on and off access to aspects of the device this is easy.

5. Jamf Parent extends beyond the classroom and home

Jamf Parent has specific features for parents surrounding a device’s location. This feature allows parents to set up rules for devices based on specific locations and view a device’s location should their child lose the device or they want to make sure their child has arrived someplace safely. Think sports practice, children getting on the bus, or kids going home with friends. Now parents have the ability to quickly check-in and feel comfortable with where their kids are and, based on the rules they created, how their kids can use their mobile device while there.

6. Easily usable and accessible

These features are great simply because of how easy it is for parents to get the most out of them. With the ability to have it on a parent’s iOS and now watchOS device, it is accessible everywhere parents want it to be. Set entire schedules up from your phone or restrict access to apps as you need to on the fly, it’s what fits your child’s schedule. That’s what matters the most – creating an environment, specific to your child’s learning.

These are just 6 simple perks of Jamf Parent for parents, kids, and schools but it certainly doesn’t stop there. One of the largest benefits to all of this is helping children create healthy relationships with mobile devices. Usage of a device helps with learning skills for their future, but too much usage can create an unhealthy reliance or addiction to screen time. Use Jamf Parent to help guide your child toward healthy habits and growth.

If you liked this and want more resources around how schools can facilitate remote learning check out our E-book. If you have any questions or want to tell us how you talked to your school about Jamf and Jamf Parent, we want to hear. Let us know by contacting us or engage with us on social media!