How an open iPad program elevates education
Standing proudly on the outskirts of Penarth, St. Cyres School provides secondary education to approximately 1,100 pupils, ages 11 through 18. They focus on delivering a high-quality learning experience that is both engaging and enjoyable, while focusing on how they can best prepare their students for the future through a technologically advanced curriculum. In 2010, the school’s Design and Technology faculty began using Apple devices. Two years later, a subset of staff began testing iPads in their classrooms. And by 2015, every St. Cyres pupil received an iPad upon admittance. Everyone immediately saw the impact of the 1-to-1 implementation. It was an elevated learning environment that tested traditional teaching techniques and spearheaded the shift into a more dynamic classroom.
Addressing concerns around iPad restrictions
St. Cyres’s iPad implementation kicked off with a conversation around restrictions. As a unique approach, instead of locking down student devices, St. Cyres left them almost entirely open for student use. This includes access to the App Store, iTunes and the iBook Store. “With this sense of ownership, we believe the iPad can be used more creatively by students to learn and complete school work the way that suits their development,” said Ian Stark, ICT manager, St. Cyres School.
Were there concerns around providing this less-restrictive environment to students? At first – yes. To proactively address the apprehension around this decision, school administrators discussed the benefits of a 1-to-1 program with parents. They provided education around monitoring iPad usage at home, including how to use parental settings, and they explained the specific restrictions they would enforce at school.
St. Cyres hides a handful of harmful apps. They also assign a global proxy to the iPad devices that forces all internet use, in or outside school, through their web filter server – a way to block access to potentially harmful websites. Stark said they can impose further restrictions, like hiding all non-school apps and the App Store, when students misuse the devices, subsequently lifting the restrictions to reward good behavior.
“As long as we are able to apply restrictions when needed, for either misuse or when requested by a parent or teacher, then we believe this is enough to create a safe, but fun learning environment using iPads,” Stark said.
Proving the use case to colleagues
In the beginning, the St. Cryes School Senior Leadership Team (SLT) knew two things. They wanted to implement Apple devices, and they wanted teachers to be involved in the process. So they asked an educator from each faculty to become a digital leader, test devices in their environment and share best practices with the digital leader group. “There was a real buzz within the school during this time,” Stark said, “And there were more applicants to become a digital leader and to trial Apple technologies than we first anticipated.”
By testing and sharing positive results, Stark said the school’s digital leaders provided the confidence others needed to move forward with the Apple implementation. “There were some teachers who had initial apprehension about the change from Microsoft to Apple,” he said, “But as the trial went on, the apprehension disappeared and everyone was looking forward to using Apple technologies in their classroom.”
Providing an elevated learning experience with Apple
Damian Parker, the faculty director for the Art Design technology, is in his 23rd year teaching at St. Cyres School. For him, the classroom has never been better. “Apple technology has totally transformed our teaching,” he said. “Pupils can access staff for support at any point in the day. Staff can mark work and send feedback instantly. Staff can collaborate when producing resources for pupils to use, and share with pupils when needed.”
Throughout the faculty, pupils produce digital portfolios of work that can be marked at any time throughout the day. Parker said this increases the workflow speed. “Pupils no longer need to print out work and stick it in paper folders. Adjustments can be made to improve work rather than simply re-doing it.” His colleague and St. Cyres School’s assistant head teacher, Rob Burton, agreed, explaining additional benefits. He said, “The iPad allows flipped learning to take place very effectively. It allows pupils of different abilities to learn at their own pace.”
Students frequently utilize their devices to access iTunes U and a range of educational apps. Teachers use AirPlay to enhance their lessons and Apple Classroom for guided learning. Richard Hopkin, lead digital leader and teacher of music at St. Cyres, said the learning opportunities are endless. “I love finding new ways to use the iPad in the classroom, and the pupils are very advanced at using them for creating professional sounding compositions, performances, appraisals and assessments,” he said. “We are very lucky that we are able to teach in such an advanced environment.”
Using the iPad for students is now as natural as traditional pen and paper.
Achieving goals with a different MDM
Stark is proud of what they’ve accomplished at St. Cyres, but he cautioned that it wouldn’t be possible without the proper management tool. In 2015, Stark said he switched from his mobile device management solution (MDM) to Jamf Pro in order to provide complete support for all of the school’s iPad devices.
He knew Jamf would allow him to:
- Provide zero-day support for all student and staff iOS and macOS devices
- Install iOS 9.3 and introduce Apple Classroom to teachers as a way to engage students
- Create a customized school App Store through Jamf Self Service
- Restrict harmful apps from student devices
- Deliver an elevated level of support for macOS devices, reducing the need for manual updates and software installs
- Offer an elevated level of technical support within the school
“We can genuinely say all iPads and Macs receive zero-touch deployment and are ready for teaching and learning in the school from day one,” Stark said. “This approach has meant the preparation work in my team has been massively reduced from having to supervise the devices manually before handing them out to students and staff.”
Stark added another huge win with Jamf Pro is the ability to easily change their environment through the use of smart groups and policies. But not only has Jamf saved his team valuable time with backend management, Stark said it also creates efficiencies in the classroom. Now instead of contacting ICT Support, staff are resolving their own issues (e.g. installing apps/iBooks) by utilizing the tools within Jamf Self Service.
“I have fallen in love with Jamf,” Stark said. “It has given the teachers confidence that the iPad is ready for every lesson. And since introducing Apple Classroom, managed by Jamf, teachers have visibility of all student iPads and can provide a guided lesson from their own devices.”
Jamf is like having a member of staff within my support team who is providing one-to-one support for every user 24/7.
Recognizing the rewards of hard work and strategic partnerships
In 2016, St. Cyres received the Apple Distinguished School recognition. Currently 70 percent of their teachers are Apple Teachers, and they’ve seen notable improvements to a number of key performance indicators.
“This has been a great achievement and is a testament to hard work from everyone who contributed toward this vision and to our 1-to-1 scheme,” Stark said. “If we didn’t have Apple in the classroom, our lesson materials would look very different and almost revert back to having teachers at the front of the classroom, showing a presentation and handing out materials printed in black-and-white to save on costs.”
St. Cyres’s reality is far from the days of antiquated leaning. Implementing Apple and the right MDM transformed how teachers deliver lessons and how students participate in their academic career. “Jamf is one of those changes you make that easily has the biggest positive impact in your school,” Stark said. Hopkin agreed saying, “Pupils come to school to learn and progress, so by having Apple technology in the classroom we are able to offer a twenty-first century education that the pupils deserve, whilst also preparing them for the future.”