Eight Key Features of an MDM for Education

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1 Eight Key Features of an MDM for Education PRESENTED BY IN COLLABORATION WITH

2 Choosing the mobile device management (MDM) software that best meets the needs of a school or district can pay big dividends, because the right system can help make mobile learning initiatives more successful while easing the burden on IT departments. Here are eight critical factors to consider. INTRODUCTION The number of mobile devices in K 12 schools is growing rapidly. According to Futuresource Consulting, sales of mobile devices to K 12 schools in the US grew 18 percent from 2015 to 2016, reaching 12.6 million units in 2016 up from 10.7 million in Futuresource expects this double-digit growth to continue as more schools implement mobile learning and 1:1 computing programs. As K 12 leaders develop and expand their mobile learning programs, they need a mobile device management (MDM) solution that can help them effectively manage all of their devices. There are many MDM systems to choose from, ranging from free or low-cost systems to more robust systems that can do many more things and this choice has important implications for teaching and learning. The MDM solution that a school or district uses plays a big role in the success or failure of a mobile learning initiative, says Adam Cusick, educational technology specialist for TabPilot Learning Systems. The right MDM not only helps IT leaders configure, roll out, and administer apps and devices smoothly and efficiently; it 2 1. Sales of Mobile PCs into the US K 12 Education Market Continue to Grow, as OS Battle Heats Up, Futuresource Consulting, March 2, Retrieved here.

3 (Source: Futuresource Consulting, 2017) Corporations are primarily concerned with keeping their proprietary information secure, which means that features such as forced file and device encryption are key. In fact, according to a report from CDW, corporate IT leaders say improved security is the number-one benefit of using an MDM solution. 2 School leaders, on the other hand, want to make sure their students are using the devices for learning while also protecting their investment and making employees jobs easier. These distinct needs require very different approaches in terms of how the system is designed. 3 also empowers educators to be more successful when teaching with technology by providing classroom-level tools not found in corporate-focused MDM. Although cost is always a consideration, there are many other factors that influence how students and teachers can use mobile devices effectively for instruction. This white paper will examine those factors in detail, including how easy an MDM is to use, how responsive it is to schools needs, and how controls are shared between IT administrators and teachers. THE QUESTIONS TO ASK When evaluating MDM solutions for their schools, here are eight important questions that K 12 leaders should ask. 1. Is the system built specifically for education? Many MDM providers sell to both the corporate and education markets. Often these providers develop their mobile device management systems with corporations in mind, sometimes adding in school-specific features later. But managing mobile devices in a corporate environment is very different from managing devices in a school or classroom. In addition to the system s design, there s another benefit to choosing a solution developed exclusively for education. Companies that sell to both businesses and schools are likely to prioritize their business customers, as their profit margin is higher in the corporate market, Cusick says. Here s a question to ponder: When Apple or Google comes out with a new feature for its mobile platforms, which market is the MDM provider likely to build for first when integrating this new feature? 2. Does the MDM support multiple operating systems? Research from Futuresource indicates that K 12 schools are using a wide range of mobile device types. Chromebooks have quickly become the most popular device in US schools, accounting for 58 percent of new mobile device purchases in Twenty-two percent of new purchases in 2016 were Windows devices, 14 percent were ipads, five percent were MacBooks and one out of every 100 mobile devices purchased by schools was an Android tablet. Choosing an MDM that can support multiple operating systems, including 2. CDW, 2012 Small Business Mobility Report. Retrieved here.

4 4 The right MDM not only helps IT leaders configure, roll out, and administer apps and devices smoothly and efficiently; it also empowers educators to be more successful when teaching with technology. Adam Cusick, Educational Technology Consultant, TabPilot Learning Systems macos and Google Chrome, gives schools more flexibility. When a school or district has such an MDM, leaders can purchase and deploy a mix of devices while managing them with a single MDM solution or they can switch device types without having to buy a new MDM. 3. Does the MDM allow for shared control among teachers and IT administrators? A key factor that s unique to education is the need for shared control between IT administrators and teachers. While school IT staff are generally responsible for enrolling devices, configuring permissions, tracking app licensing, and other highlevel administrative functions, teachers appreciate some level of control as well. It makes sense, for instance, for teachers to be able to set up customized screen views for their classes so they can control which apps their students can see and access. Teachers also should be able to distribute content as well as to clear and reset student passcodes when students forget their log-in information. It can be scary for teachers to give kids a tool that is basically like a door to the world, with the Internet and everything else on it, says Dana Kickler, an instructional technologist for Lackland Independent School District in Texas. Teachers really like having more control over what is being used and how. Giving teachers these abilities relieves some of the burden on IT staff and also eases the tension that sometimes exists between faculty and IT. For these reasons, a highquality MDM solution for education should include separate administrative consoles for both teachers and IT employees to help IT staff with deployment and teachers with classroom control. 4. Is the MDM intuitive and easy to use? Mobile device management does not have to be complex or time-consuming. Teachers and IT administrators are very busy, and they shouldn t have to settle for a product that requires extensive training or certification. Numerous edtech surveys suggest that a lack of time is a significant barrier to school technology use. In one recent survey, 31 percent of respondents agreed there is not enough time in the day to make greater use of educational technology. 3 To overcome this barrier, the interface of an MDM for education should be intuitive and easy to use, with simple drop-down menus and drag-and-drop functionality. Setting up customized screen views for various classes, for example, should be as easy as creating a class profile and then dragging and dropping the desired apps into the profile. Activating a screen layout should be as simple as choosing a class from a drop-down menu, choosing the appropriate screen layout, then clicking activate. 5. Are classroom management capabilities included at no extra charge? A high-quality MDM for schools should empower educators to teach more effectively with technology. Schools shouldn t have to purchase separate classroom management features or programs. The system should include tools to help instruction go smoothly by keeping kids focused and on task. If there is no structure put into place, it s very easy for ipads to become toys, says Sayard Bass, assistive technology coordinator for Hinsdale Township High School District 86 in Illinois. Bass s 3. Deloitte, 2016 Digital Education Survey. Retrieved here.

5 5 district manages several ipads used by students with special needs, and she appreciates having a solution that helps teachers make sure the devices are used for learning. An education-focused MDM should include classroom management features that enable educators to: Choose the apps students see on their home screens. Freeze students screens and direct their attention to the front of the classroom. Lock students into using a single app. Push Web links and content to students. Prevent students from browsing other websites. 6. Do teachers have an easy way to request new apps? Teachers are the drivers of technology use in their classrooms, and they need an easy way to request new apps for their students. An education-friendly MDM should feature a simple process for teachers to request new apps. Since all apps, both free and paid, are typically ordered through a school s volume purchase program, the process of adding new apps to classroom devices usually involves multiple steps and people. Instructional technologists might be involved in evaluation, for example, and technicians with installation. For paid apps, additional personnel might be involved in purchasing. An MDM with an integrated app request workflow system can make the process much smoother for all parties involved and also ensure that everyone is notified as apps are requested, evaluated, approved (or rejected), and installed. It s important that the MDM s app request system allow customization to match the school s desired workflow. Even though teachers have the best intentions, they don t always have the time or the know-how to fully vet an app, Kickler says. Without a clear workflow for requesting and approving apps, it s a little bit like the Wild, Wild West. 7. How quickly does the MDM incorporate the latest changes from Apple and other developers? How much time elapses before new features from Apple and other operating system developers are reflected in the software is another consideration that s critical to the functionality of an MDM. Smaller companies that offer free or low-cost MDMs might not be responsive enough to take advantage of new capabilities within ios as these are released, Cusick explains, while larger companies that sell to the enterprise market might not be nimble enough to incorporate the latest changes for education quickly. For example, Apple has unveiled significant changes that make it much easier for schools to deploy ipads. Instead of having to assign apps to a unique Apple ID, version 9.3 of ios allows schools to install apps to the devices themselves. This change greatly simplifies management, especially for schools using shared devices. Yet not all MDM solutions available to schools today have fully incorporated these changes and others took months to implement them. Schools using one of these solutions are stuck with an outdated management system that hinders their ability to quickly set up and manage their ipads. When evaluating an MDM solution for education, it s important to ask: How quickly does the provider respond to changes in mobile device platforms and

6 It can be scary for teachers to give kids a tool that is basically like a door to the world, with the Internet and everything else on it. Teachers really like having more control over what is being used and how. Dana Kickler, Instructional Technologist, Lackland (TX) Independent School District capabilities? Is the provider ready to go with a new version of its MDM that takes advantage of new features from Apple or Google on day one of the release? 8. Do service and support come directly from the MDM provider, or are they outsourced to resellers or another company? The quality of service and support a school or district receives from its MDM provider also has a big impact on the success of a mobile learning initiative. If service and support are outsourced to another part of the world, it might be the next business day before IT administrators can get their questions answered which could result in another full day of lost productivity, Cusick notes. In addition, outsourcing service and support further removes customers from the experts who designed the software and therefore are most knowledgeable about it. and also empowers teachers to use mobile devices in their classrooms more effectively. The software s two-tiered system includes powerful controls for IT administrators to enroll, manage, and secure mobile devices, as well as robust classroom management capabilities to help teachers keep students on task and facilitate instruction. IT administrators can quickly enroll and register devices, manage and distribute apps, find lost devices, schedule profiles, fine-tune permissions, set restrictions, and blacklist apps. Teachers can design their own home-screen layouts and push these out to student devices for each class they teach, so they can control which apps are seen or hidden. Teachers can also freeze student screens, lock students into using a specific app, distribute documents or Web links to students, restrict browsing to specified Web links, and clear and reset student passcodes. 6 It may also be more difficult for overseas MDM providers to provide timely on-site implementation assistance or training when needed, which means they may need to rely on local partners who are not as familiar with the details of the system as the developers themselves. While Web-based training can be effective, time zone considerations can also become a concern. HOW TABPILOT MEASURES UP TabPilot is a mobile device management solution designed specifically for education. The company s guiding philosophy is that schools should not be stuck with an MDM system built for enterprise customers and shoehorned into classrooms. TabPilot s school-specific, easy-touse MDM makes life easier for IT staff TabPilot is designed to be extremely easy to use. Its drag-and-drop functionality is so simple that any teacher can set up customized screen layouts for her classes with no special training. The system allows schools to manage devices running on four of the five most popular mobile platforms for education: ios, Android, macos, and Chrome. Most capabilities work for either ios or Android devices. In addition, TabPilot supports DEP enrollment, device inventory, restriction profiles, network profiles, and app distribution for MacBooks and it s adding functionality for managing Chromebooks and Apple s tvos in time for the school year as well. TabPilot is also the first MDM for education to integrate a custom workflow for teacher app requests. Teachers can

7 Since we started using TabPilot as our mobile device management solution, our teachers are using ipads more effectively to support teaching and learning. TabPilot has improved our directed use of ipads and this has allowed us to justify purchasing more devices. Sayard Bass, Assistive Technology Coordinator, Hinsdale Township (IL) High School request specific apps and track where these are in the approval process, while administrators can create a selfservice catalog of pre-approved apps that teachers can choose from, or administrators can assign installation to technicians or other admins. What s more, TabPilot also works closely with the latest Apple technologies during pre-release beta cycles so that support for updates is available as soon as they are released by Apple. Full integration with Apple School Manager and Apple Classroom, for example, was available immediately upon release. Finally, TabPilot s service and support are second to none. TabPilot never outsources its support, and customers cite the quality of the service they receive as a key differentiator. Together, these advantages add up to significant time savings and enhanced opportunities for learning in schools using TabPilot. In Georgia s Cherokee County School District, for instance, IT staff no longer have to touch each device in order to configure it, which saves them several hours during the course of the school year and teachers no longer have to wait weeks to have a new app installed for use in their classrooms. In a matter of seconds, teachers can customize which apps their students will see when they borrow an ipad cart, which has made learning more productive. a school district needs. The software is so school-friendly, and their tech support goes above and beyond, says Cherokee County s network analyst Carol Dickerson. Pushing out the screen layout that teachers want their students to see for a particular class, she says, is as easy as flipping a switch. Lackland ISD and Hinsdale Township have experienced similar success. Since we started using TabPilot as our mobile device management solution, our teachers are using ipads more effectively to support teaching and learning, Bass says. TabPilot has improved our directed use of ipads and this has allowed us to justify purchasing more devices. CONCLUSION When choosing a mobile device management solution for their schools, many K 12 leaders look at cost as the number-one consideration. While cost is certainly a factor for budget-conscious schools, the capabilities that an MDM enables are equally important, because they can have a significant impact on the success of a mobile learning initiative. If K 12 leaders choose a system that meets these eight key criteria, their teachers and students will be more likely to use mobile devices in powerful new ways that support teaching and learning. When that happens, schools will achieve a significant return on their technology investment. n When we started using TabPilot, it was like, Wow this is exactly what NewBay Media Inc. Logos and trademarks are the property of their respective companies. All rights reserved.