Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
65,217
33,488



Apple will be making significant changes to iPad deployment for education during the upcoming school year that should eliminate some of the hurdles that school districts face when adopting iPads for use in the classroom. In an email obtained by MacRumors, the company outlines plans to make app distribution easier by eliminating the need for an Apple ID to load apps, tweaking the Apple ID for Students program and unifying several deployment programs into one.

iPad-Education.jpg

Apple plans to simplify app distribution by allowing schools to assign and distribute apps to a device without an Apple ID this fall, reducing the number of steps needed to set up an iPad. Schools will no longer be required to create generic Apple IDs solely to load content on the tablet, and teachers and administrators will have the option to block students from making personal purchases without approval.
"To simplify large deployments, including one-to-one and shared use, we want to make app distribution even easier. Today, Apple IDs are required in order to deliver apps and books to students. We are working to change this in the fall by allowing schools to assign and distribute apps to a device without an Apple ID. As currently planned, this will greatly reduce the number of steps needed to setup a device. This change should eliminate the need to create generic Apple IDs solely for the purposes of getting content onto iPad. Schools will also have the option to prevent students from making personal purchases without approval."
The email also outlines changes to the Apple ID for Students program to roll out during 2016, including schools gaining the ability to create and manage Apple IDs for students under 13 that can be used to access iCloud. System administrators will also be able to reset student passwords. The new approach will continue to meet COPPA requirements for children's online privacy in the United States.

Apple will also be improving its Apple Deployment Programs by unifying several programs into one for a simplified administrative experience, making it easier for school districts to enroll, manage, and support large iPad deployments. Apple hopes the changes will continue to result in increased student engagement, better attendance and higher test results at all grades and levels of education.

Article Link: Apple Overhauling iPad in Education Program to Simplify Sharing Devices and Apps
 

filmantopia

macrumors 6502a
Feb 5, 2010
865
2,513
iPad has so much potential in education-- hopefully they can get the formula right to make these pilot programs more successful.
 

mrgraff

macrumors 65816
Apr 18, 2010
1,098
869
Albuquerque
Great news and I'm eager to see how it all works.

My school currently can't afford to do 1-to-1 for iPads so we have carts of iPads that classes use on a regular basis. Apple Configurator and various MDM solutions work, but they're really not as iOS-friendly as any of them pretend to be.

Apple wants to sell as many individual iPads as they can, so to actually acknowledge that there are multi-user situations out there is a big step.
 

John.B

macrumors 601
Jan 15, 2008
4,195
706
Holocene Epoch
User accounts or profiles on the iPad would help a lot more people than just the education market. At minimum, a 'guest' profile without privileges to existing user data would go a long way to making iPads more shareable...
 

DHagan4755

macrumors 68020
Jul 18, 2002
2,226
5,990
Massachusetts
The entire back-end of how Apple currently handles large deployments of iPads is very un-Apple & actually quite poor. Between the volume purchase program (VPP), DEP, and MDM, it's a giant kludge. It shouldn't have ever been this hard. Never mind the Apple Configurator which also sucks. Google's management of its Android & Chromebook devices kicks Apple's a$$ ten ways to Sunday.
 

jumanji

macrumors regular
Sep 12, 2003
205
315
Austin, TX
long overdue. they also need to shore up purchasing apps for lab use. the one ID to rule them all is out of date also
 

2457282

Suspended
Dec 6, 2012
3,327
3,015
Give the users the ability to have multiple profiles to access the ipad. Not just for schools, but for work, or even home. THis OSX feature is sorely needed, along with multi tasking.
 

Ingot

macrumors 6502
Mar 24, 2010
266
23
The entire back-end of how Apple currently handles large deployments of iPads is very un-Apple & actually quite poor. Between the volume purchase program (VPP), DEP, and MDM, it's a giant kludge. It shouldn't have ever been this hard. Never mind the Apple Configurator which also sucks. Google's management of its Android & Chromebook devices kicks Apple's a$$ ten ways to Sunday.

David I must agree with you. using Google's various education services is a far easier way for my students in my division. My school does not have 1 to 1. We have a class set that is dispersed throughout the school. The VPP is terrible. The hoops that have to be jumped through to get an app on the iPad is ridiculous. We do not use the iPads to their full potential. When this new system of doing things makes it way into Canada, I will be the first one in my neck of the woods to jump on it and make it work for my students. In the meantime google ed. is the way to go.

----------

why would they want that? apple IS in the business of selling hardware.

One possible reason is Google is investing rather heavily into the education market with chromebooks and more importantly, cloud computing. It is far easier for student collaboration with Google than it is with Apple. Apple does have a very large presence in the the education sector, but is losing ground to Google. This would be a good reason for the evolution of their policy in my opinion.
 

scott911

macrumors 6502a
Aug 24, 2009
758
456
Multiple users per iPad, get with the times apple

Even with just my small family, not to mention a whole school / classroom - I often get the sense that the people making the decision at Apple have one of each device for each family member in their own homes. They probably do, right?

But this gives them lack of insight into the sharing of devices with is more real world...

Same think with soldered in memory trend. That's another conversation I know, but Apple employee's undoubtedly always have the latest and greatest. But in the real world, there are tons of people who would love being able to pick up someone's used 4 or 5 year mac and insert more memory so it can cope with the current OS.
 

FSMBP

macrumors 68030
Jan 22, 2009
2,748
2,843
Multiple users per iPad, get with the times apple

Literally the only reason I haven't upgraded my iPad 2. I can't justify buying a new iPad Air 2 that won't have two logins (that I will inevitable constantly share with my wife). We don't use our existing iPad enough to warrant getting an iPad Air but it would be nice to get the speed boost.

Plus, I want to buy one for my kids but they can't 'share it' because each one would want their iMessage accounts/Facebook/etc linked but you can't do that...

why would they want that? apple IS in the business of selling hardware.

See above. Also, Apple sells Macs but allows multiple users - so I'm not sure how that's different.
 

HenryDJP

Suspended
Nov 25, 2012
5,084
843
United States
Give the users the ability to have multiple profiles to access the ipad. Not just for schools, but for work, or even home. THis OSX feature is sorely needed, along with multi tasking.

I agree about the multi-user option needed but doubtful that the majority needs multitasking. I would argue if it's just a few techies that would truly use it.
 

69Mustang

macrumors 604
Jan 7, 2014
7,895
15,045
In between a rock and a hard place
why would they want that? apple IS in the business of selling hardware.

Because that's what consumers want and Apple wants to continue selling that hardware. I think what Apple realizes is one sales philosophy doesn't fit all markets.

Education - a lot of progams can't afford 1-to1. Profiled iPads make sense here.
Business - BYOD devices partitioned by profile for biz and personal.
Family - Individual consumption profiles. For example kids, teens, and adult.

You're right, Apple IS in the business of selling hardware. In the education arena specifically, if that hardware is prohibitively more expensive, harder to impliment, and provides no appreciable advantage over the competition then it's harder to sell that hardware. To their credit, Apple recognizes their shortcomings and is moving to mitigate those. It's a great start, but there's more that can be done.
 

charlituna

macrumors G3
Jun 11, 2008
9,636
816
Los Angeles, CA
so to actually acknowledge that there are multi-user situations out there is a big step.

But they really haven't. There are no user accounts on the iPad and nothing suggests they are thinking about it.

As for the stopping kids from making personal purchases, that's already in there. It's called Restrictions.

The Apple ID for iCloud is really just a modification of the Family Sharing notion but with the school as the "parent" rather than the actual family. so that's not a huge shock
 

needsomecoffee

macrumors 6502
May 6, 2008
497
1,130
Seattle
Chrome & Minecraft

My two young girls love Chrome for school work & Minecraft. Kids their age are always talking about the two. We own an iPad - yes it is loved, but Apple is losing some major battles here. iPad = Family device. Chrome/Minecraft = their very own.
 

Dorje Sylas

macrumors 6502a
Jun 8, 2011
524
370
Schools will ALWAYS need Local Network level administration. Cloud Accounts will NEVER be functional. The tools must ALWAYS be usable even if the whole external network connection goes down for some reason.

This means multiple accounts per iPad. Accounts manageable from a local network device (a MacMini Server hint hint). "Cloud" storage solutions on LOCAL hardware. Ability to "Sneaker-Net" transfer quickly when Wireless fails.

Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy, and LOCAL level control.

Further, the ability to remotely manage/view student activities.

The level of control a School can have over full sized Apple Devices NEEDS to be the same level of control they have over iOS.
 

sonamo

macrumors member
Jan 23, 2014
65
30
California
How about fixing the Volume Purchase Program while they are at it? You shouldn't need to run OS X server on a dedicated machine to purchase more than one copy of software such as Final Cut Pro X.

Before the Mac App Store you could just order more than one boxed copy. There is your volume purchase right there. They make it way too complicated with multiple email addresses or running OS X server. They need a reality check over there.
 
Last edited:

mantan

macrumors 68000
Nov 2, 2009
1,747
1,054
DFW
David I must agree with you. using Google's various education services is a far easier way for my students in my division. My school does not have 1 to 1. We have a class set that is dispersed throughout the school. The VPP is terrible. The hoops that have to be jumped through to get an app on the iPad is ridiculous. We do not use the iPads to their full potential. When this new system of doing things makes it way into Canada, I will be the first one in my neck of the woods to jump on it and make it work for my students. In the meantime google ed. is the way to go.

----------



One possible reason is Google is investing rather heavily into the education market with chromebooks and more importantly, cloud computing. It is far easier for student collaboration with Google than it is with Apple. Apple does have a very large presence in the the education sector, but is losing ground to Google. This would be a good reason for the evolution of their policy in my opinion.

Very true. Our school has a 1:1 program with iPads. But it's a hassle at the beginning of the year setting up separate Apple ID' and linking it to iTunes - seems like there are always multiple issues to work through.

Google is killing it with Google Apps. The kids love collaborating using their software. It's easy to use, connects easy and is efficient. After a few years using it, my kids prefer it over MS products. My 7th grader uses his chromebook more than the school issued iPad.

Let's be honest, Apple and Google are both looking to win the hearts and minds of consumers while they are young. Apple has to make their stuff easier for educators and students to use to stop losing ground. Google wasn't even on the radar 10 years ago, now kids see them as a mainstream option...and on even ground (and in some ways superior) to Apple.
 

SpectatorHere

macrumors 6502a
Apr 21, 2010
501
109
I think Apple will have trouble competing with Chromebooks in education. They can't compete on cost (unless they halve the price...or more), they lack hardware keyboards, they've been slow to accept the necessity of multiple profiles, administration of deployments is a pain, and Google apps/classroom are being tailored for education.



I wish Apple wouldn't have ignored this market for so long, but they felt like they didn't need to cater to it. At the time they didn't, but now there is a better choice for districts and classrooms. Apple has one year, at most, if they're going to turn this around, and it may already be too late.
 

8281

macrumors 6502
Dec 15, 2010
498
643
Apple has one year, at most, if they're going to turn this around, and it may already be too late.

That's a good point. School systems aren't the most agile organizations, and I'm sure budgets are set months or years in advance. It's not like they can switch platforms every other year.

Apple just isn't in a great position to compete with Google on software, which is a shame because Apple's hardware is so good.
 

2010mini

macrumors 601
Jun 19, 2013
4,701
4,807
this is about selling more hardware. Hardware to the schools that can't afford one to one, but can afford 1 to 3.

Then that school district needs to learn how to negotiate prices down to a point were they can afford it then.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.