Creating a Digital Classroom Ecosystem: Integrating iPad

I visit hundreds of classrooms each year, and it always surprises me when a teacher cannot wirelessly mirror their iPad to their screen. To my mind, being able to model work and showcase learning on the screen is essential. On top of that, the iPad can be a massively integral teaching tool. Before devices made their way into the hands of learners, I taught for years with my own iPad, and I can honestly say that it enabled me to do so much more than any interactive whiteboard/screen would ever have been able to.  

So, how do you do it? The good news is that the iPad comes with mirroring capabilities built in. Simply swipe down the control panel in the top right-hand side of your home screen and tap on the icon that looks like two screens overlapping. The key is, you have to have something to mirror to (a screen or projector). Thankfully, I have more good news for you! It’s possible that you’re already able to mirror to your screen, you just don’t know it yet. Many interactive whiteboards have mirroring software as standard that can be turned on in the settings. All you have to do is make sure that functionality is turned on, and then you should be able to see that screen pop up when you pull down the control panel on the iPad.  

If this isn’t the case, there are a couple of software options I would recommend. Reflector or AirServer are both available online to download onto your desktop computer. When you turn Reflector or AirSever on, your iPad can then mirror to your computer (effectively overlaying anything else that you have on your desktop).  

The next option is the best option by far. Plugging an Apple TV into your screen or projector provides the most solid and high-quality wireless mirroring experience possible. There will be no delay in sound or picture on the screen as you work away on an iPad. The newest Apple TVs and iPad Pros also support ‘Stage Manager, ’ which allows the teacher to extend their iPad screen. This experience is a lot like extending a desktop.  

If all else fails, it’s well worth owning a HDMI adaptor lead. It doesn’t matter how new or old your iPads are; there is a lead out there that would allow you to plug the devices directly into your screen or projector. Being able to mirror wirelessly is the north star. You can’t really beat that kind of mobility in the classroom. However, if it’s a choice between being able to mirror your iPad screen or not, I would always plug directly in. You will unlock all sorts of teaching and learning power when you can successfully and seamlessly mirror an iPad to the big screen.   

You can’t drive a car if it has no wheels, and you can’t use an iPad if it’s out of charge. Let me start by saying, the iPad holds its charge incredibly well. The battery life has only got better over the years, and I am sure that, as new generations come out, the full-to-full time will increase. That all being said, it’s still an area of technological use that all schools struggle with from one degree to another. You might work at a school with a single class set of devices, or you might be lucky enough to be 1:1 (every child has an iPad). No matter the setup, the fact still remains that without keeping an eye on the iPad battery levels, you’ll find yourself in tricky situations in the classroom. 

So, let's start with some simple tricks and tips. Firstly, make sure that you regularly ask the children to shut down their apps when they are not using them. Over time, apps are opened and are never shut down. In turn, the iPad is working hard to run all of the apps in the background, and as a result, the battery life decreases. Likewise, it's worth checking the iPad’s auto-lock settings. Most children are very good at putting their devices into lock mode, but why leave it to chance? The auto-lock will ensure that the iPad will conserve battery by itself. On top of that, I would encourage you to have a small charging hub somewhere in the classroom that enables children to plug their devices in quickly and easily. This doesn’t need to be anything fancy (just a few charging cables plugged into an extension lead). If a child is using their iPad to do incredibly creative things on multiple apps, they shouldn’t be hampered by the battery life. This way, they can stick their device on charge over break or quickly juice up during an appropriate window mid-lesson.  

That leads nicely on to my next suggestion. Give the responsibility to the children. In a 1:1 setting, the children are naturally responsible for their own battery percentages. They need to have charged their iPad at home before heading to school the next day, in the same way that they have to make sure they have completed their homework and packed the right resources into their backpack. If you have a class set of iPads that return to a charging box at the end of every lesson, I would recommend that the same child uses the same iPad every time and that they are responsible for plugging their device back in. There are always going to be exceptions to this rule, but in my experience, when the children feel ownership over the device (even when it is a shared iPad), they tend to make sure that it has the best chance of making it through the day with a healthy battery percentage.  

None of the above is possible without a clear ‘Charging Policy’. Educational Organisations have incredible polices across the board that aid the teaching and learning in their schools. When it comes to technology, you’ll find e-Safety, Cyber Bullying and Acceptable Usage policies. However, I rarely see a well-rounded and detailed ‘Charging Policy’. For example, if you work at a 1:1 school and a child walks into your classroom with 10% battery, what is the policy? Is there a behaviour policy consequence? Does every class have a small charging hub? Are all teachers across the school dealing with that issue in the same way? Likewise, if a Class Set of iPads isn’t looked after in the same way by every class, who is to blame if the devices are all out of charge by lunchtime? Instilling consistency and a sense of responsibility is key if you want to reap the benefits of a top-notch technological setup.  

Management means a lot of different things to a lot of different people in a school. For the learners, they need to have some level of independence over their devices and manage the workload accordingly. The teachers need to manage the classroom and ensure that the lessons stay firmly on track. Leadership and the IT team need to know that they can quickly and easily set restrictions and push out the right resources to the iPads. Thankfully, in all three cases, management is easily embeddable within any iPad rollout.  

Let’s start by looking at the bigger picture. Handing out any number of iPads is a daunting prospect. Yet, many schools opt to ‘go 1:1’ in a timely fashion. So, how do you ensure that the classroom is safe and crucially productive? The answer is Mobile Device Management (MDM). An MDM enables schools to set restrictions, push out apps, embed wifi connections and control a huge range of logistical elements of the iPads. Jamf School is the most popular MDM because it’s intuitive and easy to use. Often, in smaller school setups, someone is handed the responsibility of managing the iPads. This individual may have very little knowledge of iPad setups, etc. Therefore, the MDM has to be accessible. When it comes to Jamf, all of the devices can be managed remotely, and changes can be put into effect at any time. Therefore, there is always a watchful eye over the devices, and the MDM becomes a silent partner in the perfect classroom setup.  

For teachers, Apple Classroom is a game-changer when it comes to management. This app (on the Teacher's device) can steer and direct an entire class worth of iPads and can be set up directly by your MDM. In other words, with the tap of a few buttons, the teacher can view all of the learners' screens; push individuals or the whole class onto an app of their choice; lock the devices entirely; launch websites; mute noisy apps and much more. It really is an essential piece of the puzzle. For the most apprehensive teacher, it offers control, but for every teacher, it offers classroom management at a high level. If your school opts to use Jamf, you can go one step further. Jamf Teacher (an app that comes with Jamf School) allows teachers to select the tools they wish to use during a lesson and remove everything else from the iPads.  

It’s important, at this point, to think about why you may have opted to go for iPads in the first place. Arguably, if you’re restricting the devices to a handful of apps, you're denying everyone the creative possibilities that come with hopping from one thing to the next. So, every school has to strike a balance. I’m a firm believer in children having as much ownership over their devices as possible. A great example of this is allowing the learners to set their own accessibility features up. The accessibility options (built into every iPad) can be found in the settings. Each individual can personalise the way that they interact with the iPad to meet their own learning preferences. Outside of accessibility, there are thousands of things that a child can do to individualise their technological experience and managing that is another responsibility that every young learner needs to get to grips with.  

Ultimately, all of these management options need to work towards the same goal. They need to eliminate anything that can take the learners off course and away from their educational objectives. In the perfect classroom setup, the iPad shouldn’t feel like a consumer product for gaming, streaming, internet shopping, etc. It should feel like a powerful tool for productivity and creativity.  

How do the learners receive work on their iPads? How do they send work to the teacher from their iPad? This is the crux of digital workflow. It doesn’t matter if you are timetabled to use a class set of iPads once every two weeks or if every learner has an iPad during every lesson; having a solid solution for saving and sending work is massively crucial. There are many different options when it comes to Digital Workflow, and they all have their pluses and minuses. Let’s examine some of them now…  

Microsoft Teams and OneNote are popular choices for sending and receiving digital work. Historically, most schools were built on a Microsoft technological backbone. It’s a setup that the teachers and leadership would most likely feel comfortable with, and it works seamlessly on iPad. Class Notebooks can be set up and filled with all the materials needed for every unit. This, combined with the wider range of Office 365 productivity apps, adds up to a great solution that can meet the needs of both learners and teachers. However, I think it's fair to say that Teams and OneNote benefit from a good technological skill set. There are so many incredible options and approaches afforded to you that it can be overwhelming, and I would argue that it’s not accessible enough for young learners to use.  

The Google Workspace for Education is perhaps slightly less technical in the first instance. Google Classroom sits in the centre of this Digital Workflow solution and offers a simple way of interacting with students as well as sending work back and forth. You can go one step further by setting up assignments and accessing Google’s wider suite of productivity tools. Both Microsoft and Google also offer built-in ways of sending feedback to work digitally. I feel that Google’s feedback and marking capabilities are more geared towards teachers, but it’s all personal preference. The Google set-up is perhaps more streamlined, but of course, that means that there are fewer options overall. Also, Educators have to keep one eye on the learner's life after school. Gaining skills on Apple, Microsoft, and Google would be ideal, but what combination is most relevant to the learner?  

Another option would be Showbie. If you’re looking for a Digital Workflow tool that you can hit the ground running with straight away, look no further than Showbie. It was designed and created specifically for teaching and learning. As a result, the app speaks the language of education very well. Everything is set up in classes and year groups. Even the look and feel of the app echoes the idea of collating worksheets in trays. The feedback features are way beyond any other digital workflow tool, and it’s super easy to use. I also like that Showbie is open to all file types. Understandably, Teams/OneNote works best when you embed the Microsoft 365 apps into classroom practice. It’s the same story when it comes to the Google suite of Education apps and Google Classroom. Showbie works with everything. However, if you have a mix of Microsoft and Apple devices in your school or a mix of ChromeBooks and Apple devices, then Microsoft and Google already offer connective tissue. Showbie is another tool for teachers and learners to engage with.  

Showbie is simplistic and intuitive enough to work across both Secondary and Primary settings. However, the best Digital Workflow tool for younger learners is SeeSaw by far. SeeSaw intentionally skews younger, and as a result, it’s easy to use. Teachers can set up assignments and collate work over time to create impressive digital learning journals. Like Showbie, SeeSaw can handle any file, but it also offers built-in activities. Learners and teachers can use interactive whiteboards, cameras, microphones, notation tools and much more, all within the app. The feedback tools for the teacher are very good and enable digital marking. However, it is unlikely that Primary school-aged learners will go on to use SeeSaw in secondary school. So, we return to the question of longevity and future-proofing. Is it best for younger learners to get to grips with more complex digital workflow tools ahead of secondary school, or use the most accessible tools available to aid their learning?  

In my opinion, schools should choose the best Digital Workflow tool for their learners. In the perfect classroom set-up, everything should be accessible. Whilst future proofing is important, I think it’s an impossible task. The job I have now didn’t exist when I was in school, and so the future is never certain. One thing is clear, though, being able to easily share work is paramount.