Apple is reportedly introducing a few tweaks into its iPad for Education program to make it easier for students to gain access to iPads.
As first reported by MacRumors, which obtained a copy of a letter by Apple sent to its education partners, Apple will be removing its requirement for an Apple ID for teachers to be able to assign and download apps and books into each iPad, a move that Apple says will "greatly reduce the number of steps needed to set up a device." Currently, schools have to grapple with the inconvenience of setting up an iPad with separate Apple IDs and linking each iPad to iTunes.
"This change should eliminate the need to create generic Apple IDs solely for the purposes of getting content onto iPad," says Apple in its letter, which was published by 9to5Mac. "Schools will also have the option to prevent students from making personal purchases without approval."
Apple says it is also planning to change its Apple ID for Students program starting next year. The iPhone maker says it realizes that schools, especially those in large districts, are faced with the challenge of obtaining parental consent to create Apple IDs for students below 13 years old. Parental consent is needed for younger students in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). With the revamped program, teachers will be able to manage their students' Apple ID and reset passwords while still meeting the COPPA's requirements.
Taking a page out of Google's Chromebook deployment program, Apple says it will unify its individual Apple Deployment Programs into a single program that will allow system administrators to enroll, manage and provide support for each iPad, which will be especially useful in schools with large populations.
Last year, research firm IDC said Google's "thin laptops" have surpassed the iPad in terms of the number of units sold in the education sector. Google's 715,000 Chromebook units shipped is by no means a landslide win over Apple's 702,000 iPads, but Apple is fast losing ground in an arena where it previously dominated, mainly because of the ease of deploying and using the Chromebooks compared to the Apple ID hoops schools have to go through simply to deploy the iPads.
Cost, too, is a significant factor, and education clients are much more likely to get a $199 brand new Chromebook from Acer, Dell, Samsung or HP than a $399 version of the previous-generation iPad Air. Additionally, for the lower price, the Chromebook comes with a keyboard, which is essential for a device targeted for the education sector.
Apple hopes the changes will lead to increased student engagement, better attendance and higher test results, which the iPad maker says is evident in schools where there is a one-to-one student-to-iPad ratio.
"We understand that some schools are not able to give every student an iPad and are sharing devices across classes and students," says Apple. "We want to make learning with a shared iPad a great experience for these students as well as their teachers and administrators."
Photo: Lexie Flickinger | Flickr
