Tech in Education
Technology has constantly been improving learning and supporting digital literacy for both students and teachers, but sometimes it’s not easy to implement consistently. In April 2019, the Department of Education published a strategy for both educators and technology providers to set a course for success, all while reducing common pain points and red tape associated with investment. Marrying education and technology is an effective tool in supporting student learning, wherever they may be — improving inclusivity and accessibility to education. Belgrave School in Bristol is onesuch school who’s fully realised the powerful role technology can play in supporting teachers and students, particularly during a world crisis.
Unleashing true potential
With a clear vision to drive teaching and learning forward, Belgrave School had invested in a few iPads in the past, but had struggled to manually update each device and install different apps or content based on varying student needs. “We had iPads already in place, but with no mobile device management solution or action plan, they weren’t being used to their advantage by the students nor teachers,” said George Barlow, Vice Principal at Belgrave School.
For Belgrave School’s digital learning strategy to be a success, each student needed to enjoy the benefits of engaging content through an easy-to-use device. Determined to learn from their previous experience and continue on their digital learning path, Belgrave School invested in 490 Apple iPads for all of its Year 1–6 students. This time, however, they enlisted the help of Jamf’s mobile device management (MDM) solution, Jamf School.
Through Jamf School, teachers now had a deeper level of oversight into each iPad and consistently upload and roll out content and software with just a few clicks. The school’s investment into an MDM solution became crucial very quickly when the entire country went into lockdown and schools needed to close. “As the pandemic hit the UK, we already knew that we were prepared to make that leap.” said Mr. Barlow.
As the pandemic hit the UK, we already knew that we were prepared to make that leap [to remote learning].
Learning in lockdown
With each student having access to an iPad and supported through Jamf’s MDM solution, Belgrave School continued learning remotely when the UK was placed in lockdown. The intuitive, secure and efficient nature of Jamf School meant teachers and students were supported in getting up and running with very little down time or disruption.
By leveraging device enrolment with Jamf School, devices could easily be provisioned over the air which helped to reduce the spread of infection and meant the school could scale as they needed via the Cloud.
All assessments, resources and workflows were maintained to Belgrave School’s high standard, with the only difference being students and teachers were now in virtual classrooms using communication tools. Belgrave School was also able to take advantage of education tools that had pivoted to adapt to the lockdown, such as paperless classroom app, Showbie, which had made significant changes to their software to include video classroom functionality.
We had iPads already in place, but with no mobile device management solution or action plan, they weren’t being used to their advantage by the students nor teachers.
A seamless experience
Managing which apps are accessible to teachers and students as well as dissolving any IT issues is usually a hindrance to productivity and the overall digital learning strategy. With Jamf School, Belgrave School was able to save both time and effort for IT, staff and students alike. Any new app requests or technical pain points for students could be notified by the teachers and then rolled out or resolved, all through simple pop-up notifications.
As Belgrave School maintained responsibility over the iPads, the leadership team worked together to organise a pre-approved list of apps that could be downloaded by teachers and introduced remote locking of iPads at 8:00 p.m. to help reduce student screen time.
Similar to school attendance, if students hadn’t checked into their device over a set number of days, a notification would be sent to the teacher who could then contact parents to ensure everything was okay.
Through the Jamf School Teacher app, which works in conjunction with Jamf School, educators could manage student devices remotely and personalise their own devices. Teachers can install the apps most relevant to them, without ever needing to request support from IT. In addition, teachers can also set up and invite students to assigned video conference classes, where they can share different content to the rest of the class to encourage group learning.
Vision for the Future of Learning
With the use of iPads, Belgrave School has seen a change in not only engagement but behaviour, too. Students who previously struggled to concentrate are now enjoying more interactive learning while others are noticeably more focused on their activities.
While reading and writing remains important, using Apple technology has improved digital literacy — the students enhance their learning by searching and can ask the Apple voice assistant, Siri, rather than using a dictionary or reference book.
As schools return to normal, Belgrave School is considering implementing a continued learning program as part of their overall strategy. This would look at providing additional support to children that may require it and enabling students to use their devices on certain days for homework. “It has been really effective having Jamf in place. We were prepared [for the lockdown] before we even knew it and Jamf helped to solve any problems that may have arisen in introducing education technology. As a school, we now couldn’t imagine teaching and learning without the iPads as it has totally transformed our experience.”
It has been really effective having Jamf in place. We were prepared [for the lockdown] before we even knew it and Jamf helped to solve any problems that may have arisen in introducing education technology. As a school, we now couldn’t imagine teaching and learning without the iPads as it has totally transformed our experience.
