Which iPad for the Classroom?

When planning your next iPad purchase, there are a number of important considerations.  

Previously, the decision between large and small screens and GB of storage often came down to budget.  Today, there are new considerations:

• Minimum Spec for ‘Shared iPad’ – To use Apple’s new ‘Shared iPad’ feature, you need a 32GB iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 4 or later model iPad.
• Mobile Device Management (MDM) – To take advantage of ‘Shared iPad’ and the new ‘Classroom’ app an MDM solution is required, and Caching Server is recommended.
• iOS 10 Support – When iOS 10 arrives in spring, it will NOT support some older iPad models. 

While iPads have proven to be very reliable (especially compared to desktops and laptops) and schools continue to use their original iPads, their longevity is a double edged sword.  Their long life makes it hard to justify their replacement!

Schools with older devices, especially the many schools with iPad 2 will need to look at budgeting for the replacement of older iPads for the coming year if they want to support the upcoming iOS and apps, and the new ‘Shared iPad’ functionality.