I know what a lot of you may be thinking - having an iPad classroom seems fabulous! The truth is that having an iPad class is wonderful, but it certainly has its share of headaches. The implementation of iPads in the classroom is ridden with details to consider and frequent hiccups along the way. There are a lot of these logistical problems at the district level, but most of the annoyances for the teacher, occur from the daily management of each device in the classroom.
The Bad . . .
First, downloading apps and updates to each device can be pretty cumbersome. Whether you sync your iPads to a Mac or use the Cloud to receive and update apps and software, there isn't a real efficient way to do this - yet. Our district has set up a separate Mac server and our iPad classrooms use the Cloud to purchase and update apps. The problem is that most apps only load onto 5-10 devices with each update or purchase. That means I have to go back into the remaining 10-15 devices and enter I the password for each app on each device. Talk about time consuming! For example, at the beginning of the year, I had to put about 50 apps on 22 devices, and enter the password each time! Do the Math - Wow! And, this is a task that I don't let students help with because of the password security, so it falls all on the classroom teacher. There aren't many easy alternatives to back-up and app downloads. Schools that download apps and updates by syncing to a Mac computer face the challenge of hooking up each device to an individual computer, which is equally time consuming. However, there are now "syncing" and charging carts available for iPads - but they are very pricey for the average school to purchase.
Managing the apps on these devices brings up other important considerations. How will the teacher pay for and purchase classroom apps? There are plenty of really good free apps, but true iPad integration requires the purchase of educational and productivity apps to meet the curriculum. My iPads are linked to one main device in the classroom. Apps are purchased by the district using allotted funds, through the Apple Volume Purchase program. This purchasing program allows a 50% discount for purchases of 20 or more apps of one individual kind of app. Purchases through the iBook Store have to be confirmed and purchased through the building administrator. Once app purchases are made I receive a redemption code for my class, which is entered in the main device. From the Cloud the app is downloaded onto the other devices.
Another big consideration is storage and charging of the iPads. Most classrooms don't have twenty extra outlets! When the iPads first arrived, I had charging cords and power strips everywhere! It was a mess! Our district looked at several options for storage and charging. Many of the commercially manufactured carts are quite expensive, or lack a design suited for the classroom. For this reason, our district asked the students at the area career center to design a cart. It works wonderfully! It is compact, easy to move, and charges 25 iPads at one time. Below is a picture of the cart. The students at the career center actually redesigned a medical supply cart. Pretty nice work!
iPads break. Having a 1:1 iPad classroom is a big investment for schools and districts. And, teachers turn that investment over to the hands of little children. So yeah, there are going to be some cracked screens and damaged devices. It can be really upsetting when technology is damaged, but it is going to happen! Schools need to have a plan to replace damaged devices. Apple Care insurance is purchased yearly per device and is very expensive! This is especially true when you take into consideration the actual number of iPads that may break in a year. Our district opted to buy several replacement iPads. School districts doing wide scale implementation are even charging user fees in addition to having students and families sign acceptable use and replacement policies. No matter how large or how small the implementation project, damage and replacement must be considered.
Problem solving for efficient management of the iPad classroom can be overwhelming at times, but the rewards of having students engaged in the curriculum through the use of the latest technology is definitely worth it!
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