Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Developers, Educators, and Learners (Wiley and SAS Business Series)

by Scott McQuiggan

Logistics Many districts also invest in device-management systems to gain greater control over students' interactions and permissions. With features such as web filtering, app blocking, and wireless synching, device-management systems mitigate several of the concerns stakeholders have with widespread mobile deployments. To eliminate cheating, instructors from Franklin Academy in North Carolina report using their device management system to put students into guided access, a mode available on iOS devices that locks users into a particular app, when administering tests via the iPad.11 Getting high volumes of devices set up quickly is another logistical issue for schools; tools like Apple Configurator can address the launch of major mobile initiatives easily. Another key to making effective use of mobile technology is to make it easy for teachers to test and install apps. You may recall the teacher from Chapter, 1, who, according to her school's policy, was required to jump through many hoops to simply test an app. When she found an app that she might want to use in a lesson, she had to email the device cart managers to get it approved, and the app was then downloaded on all three device carts before she could even access and try out the app. So, simply to test an app, all the devices now must have the app.12 Of course, not all apps are a good fit for the lesson, and sometimes determining that is difficult simply based on online resources and app store summaries. This process...