Apple School Manager Connector for Univention

Apple School Manager Connector for Univention

iPads in schools

The digitisation in schools that are equipped with UCS@school continues to progress rapidly. Many school authorities and federal states are providing schools with mobile terminals for use in the classroom. Apple’s iPads in particular are in demand. The devices are robust, easy to use and affordable. They are also equipped with a large number of special apps for digital education.

While iPads are usually tied to a single user, there is one exception for schools with the so-called shared iPads: Students authenticate themselves with their credentials and can thus access personal data, homework, apps, books, etc. This not only saves costs but in combination with mobile device management also a lot of time, as teachers can manage the contents centrally.

Apple School Manager and MDM solutions

Prerequisite for the use of shared iPads is their connection to the Apple School Manager. The responsible administrators manage the students‘ user accounts, the devices and their contents via the web portal of the manufacturer. Apple’s Device Enrollment Program (DEP) facilitates the addition and initial configuration of new iPads. The purchase and distribution of apps and books can also be automated. The manufacturer calls this provisioning program the Volume Purchase Program (VPP).

An MDM (Mobile Device Management) system is required to use DEP and VPP. However, such a mobile device management is recommended anyway if a larger number of tablets is in use. Otherwise you would need to configure each device manually. An MDM system takes care of the software and the basic privacy-compliant settings of the iPads, integration with the school network, user accounts, classes, and more. The Apple School Manager provides an interface for MDM solutions such as ZuluDesk, FileWave and Relution – all available in the Univention App Center. …… Continue reading the full blog article …

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