Apple TV in the classroom: Is it worth it?

“So, that is how the French Revolution started…Miss Forger, would you like to share with the rest of the class what exactly it is outside the window that has caught your attention?” questioned Mrs. Fitzgerald, the elderly history teacher. Elaina jerked upright from her musings as if doused by ice-cold water. Mrs. Fitzgerald narrowed her eyes at Elaina, pinning her to the spot.

Elaina couldn’t help the red creeping up her neck at being caught watching butterflies while Mrs. Fitzgerald droned on about the French and some revolution. “I’m sorry,” muttered Elaina as she tried to dissolve into nothingness, to no avail. “If anyone else finds the trees and flowers outside more entertaining than the French Revolution, you are free to walk out,” boomed Mrs. Fitzgerald’s voice in the class. With a collective shake, the students pulled themselves out of their daydreams, lest they be at the receiving end of Mr. Fitzgerald’s tongue lashings.

Uh-oh! That was embarrassing for Miss Elaina Forger. But let’s be honest, haven’t we all zoned out with the teacher’s voice buzzing in the background? That’s one crime we’ve all been guilty of at one point or another. Benjamin Franklin, the Founding father of the United States, was onto something when he said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” The best way to teach is to involve them in the process and ensure all their senses are involved, not just their ears. And so, here’s a take on whether or not the latest member of the Apple family, the Apple TV, can help capture and involve the students in a better learning process.

Back in the day…

Before technology, education was a more hands-on and spread-by-word-of-mouth experience. Students would learn through direct instruction from a teacher, as well as through observation and participation in activities and experiments. Books were the primary source of information and knowledge. A time when using your hand to write was an essential skill set. Class sizes were often smaller, allowing a stronger sense of community within the classroom. Overall, the education system relied heavily on the knowledge and expertise of the teacher and the ability of the student to absorb information through traditional teaching methods.

And then…

We have come a long way from palm leaf manuscripts to chalks and blackboards and now to smartboards. Countless leaders and visionaries have stressed the importance of converting education from a tedious learning chore to a visual experience that can leave a lasting mark on young impressionable minds. Modern education incorporated smartboards and such for this very reason – visual learning.

The joy of visualizing:

Visual learning is like a treasure trove of knowledge, where each image holds a unique story, waiting to be unlocked. It’s like having a personal tour guide, showing you the way through a maze of information. With visual aids, the mind can easily grasp complex concepts, making them more relatable and memorable. The colors, shapes, and diagrams act as memory triggers, making it easier to recall information later.

Imagine a teacher explaining the solar system without any visuals, it might just be a bunch of planets and orbits. However, with the help of images, it becomes a fascinating journey through the cosmos, with each planet holding its own mystery. So, visual learning is like adding a dash of spice to the dullness of plain information, making learning a more enjoyable and unforgettable experience.

Apple TV to the rescue…

Apple TV can play an important role in education by providing a platform for interactive and engaging lessons. With the ability to wirelessly mirror the display of an iPad or Mac to a classroom’s big screen, teachers can easily showcase educational videos, presentations, and interactive content to the entire class. This can make the learning experience more dynamic and engaging for students, by providing visual aids and multimedia resources that can help to clarify complex concepts.

Additionally, Apple TV can facilitate collaborative learning by allowing students to share their work, such as presentations or videos they created with the class. This can help to promote teamwork and foster a sense of community in the classroom. Furthermore, Apple TV also incorporates the Airplay feature that allows students and teachers to share their screens with others, thus helping them collaborate on a project or assignment in real-time. This feature can be very useful in distance learning and remote classrooms.

So, Apple TV can enhance the classroom experience by providing a platform for interactive, multimedia-rich lessons and promoting collaboration and teamwork among students.

What does Apple TV contribute to the classroom?

Apple TV in the classroom pulls out the very best of teaching experience to shape the very best of a learning experience. Chance a glance at the ways Apple TV can impact the teaching-learning experience in a classroom environment…

• Improved engagement: Apple TV allows teachers to display videos, presentations, and educational apps, on the classroom’s big screen. This can make the learning experience more engaging and dynamic for students.
• Facilitates collaboration: With the ability to share screens, teachers and students can collaborate on projects and assignments in real-time. This can help to promote teamwork and foster a sense of community in the classroom.
• Enhances distance learning: Apple TV can facilitate distance learning by allowing students and teachers to connect remotely and participate in class from anywhere.
• Increases Access to educational content: Apple TV allows teachers to access a wide range of educational content and apps through the App Store, which can help to supplement traditional teaching methods and provide new learning opportunities.
• Easy to use and manage: Apple TV is simple to set up and use. Basically, IT personnel can manage the Apple TV in classrooms remotely through a web-based interface, making it easy for teachers to control and maintain the device in the classroom.
• Cost-effective: When compared to the other classroom technology options, Apple TV is more affordable. This relative affordability makes the idea of Apple TV in classrooms closer to reality.

So you see, there are quite a few things that the Apple TV can achieve in a classroom. But what remains to see is whether it’s worth the hassle. Can it even be managed in a classroom setup? Would it not be misused? So, how do we answer these questions? Yup, the only way we know, break it down, one step at a time. Here we go…

Managing your tools with ease:

Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) is one term that comes up whenever device management is in question. So, obviously, UEM solutions have to make provisions and policies to secure and manage Apple TVs. These policies should cover all the loopholes to ensure maximum security and an iron grip on the management framework.

As with any connected device, there is always the risk of hacking or other security breaches. This can be a concern for schools and teachers when using Apple TV in the classrooms. There is also a concern about data privacy and security when using digital devices in the classroom, as they collect and store data about the students, which can be vulnerable to breaches. All the more reasons for schools to make use of the efficiently dynamic UEM solutions in the market. Like Hexnode!

Hexnode provides simple almost effortless but at the same time stringent management of Apple TV. Here’s a look at the various strings you can pull…

Enrollment:

Hexnode provides three easy ways to enroll your Apple TVs into the UEM solution. Before anything else, let’s have a look at what these include:

Apple Configurator enrollment: Apple TVs can be enrolled into Hexnode using a macOS application that can easily supervise Apple devices. This application is called Apple Configurator. Technically, Apple Configurator easily creates and deploys custom configuration profiles and applications. And so, the admin can deploy these custom configuration profiles and applications as per the need and requirements of the business or educational institution.

Apple Business Manager: Apple launched Apple Business Manager to make it easier for businesses and educational institutions to remotely deploy Apple devices. Moreover, a brand-new Apple device can be registered in Hexnode using ABM without ever being touched by a technician. Apply DEP policy through the Hexnode portal right away as the devices get enrolled in Hexnode.

ABM Enrollment via Apple Configurator: ABM enrollment cannot enroll:

• Apple devices acquired before March 1, 2011
• other non-Apple purchased devices
• non-Apple authorized resellers, or non-Apple purchased devices

Apple Configurator can enroll such devices in DEP. Additionally, employing this enrolling approach, Apple TVs that were previously released from DEP can be added back.

Secure the network:

The next step after enrolling the Apple TVs into Hexnode is to set up the Wi-Fi network. The same Wi-Fi network that will bring your device online. Organizations of all sizes are concerned about network security. They can remotely create Wi-Fi networks for their Apple TVs to connect to using Hexnode. Users do not need to manually connect to the network by tapping on the Apple TV remote. Furthermore, users don’t need to know the institution’s network’s password to connect the Apple TV to it.

Application management:

What’s a device without any apps? Maybe, just a box! Well, if the applications add utility to the device, then it makes sense that device management includes managing the apps. So naturally, Hexnode has the plan to secure the apps on the Apple TV deployed in your institution. Hexnode takes care of everything for the Apple TV in your classrooms, from silently pushing the apps to remotely removing unwanted apps.

For starters, enterprise apps! Enterprise apps, also known as business apps, are software applications designed for organizational settings such as businesses, government agencies, and schools. In schools, enterprise apps can play a vital role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the educational experience. Hexnode provides the base for effortlessly deploying enterprise apps to Apple TVs in bulk. Once the admin adds these apps to Hexnode’s app inventory, the admin can silently push these apps to the Apple TV in the classroom. Silently as in, the teachers or the students wouldn’t be disturbed in any way. No pop-ups, no sounds, no nothing!

The Apple Volume Purchase Program (VPP) is a platform for app deployment that enables businesses and academic institutions to buy and distribute applications and books in vast numbers. Furthermore, combining VPP with Hexnode’s app management capabilities can efficiently streamline app deployment on Apple TV.

Ensure security:

Obviously, the most important thing remains to ensure safety. Hexnode ensures security for the Apple TVs deployed in a school by employing both certificates and a global HTTP proxy.

Digital certificates and identities are supported on Apple devices. A digital certificate is essential for verifying the reliability of a client or server across a network and for encrypting the data sent between them. Apple occasionally needs certificates to confirm the legitimacy and trustworthiness of the configurations pushed through the UEM.

Global HTTP proxy, on the other hand, ensures that a secure proxy server tunnels the network traffic between the supervised Apple TVs and the internet.

Kiosk Management:

For a more restrictive use of the Apple TV in classrooms, ensure that the users don’t use them for purposes other than the intended one. How do we do that, you ask? Easy! All you have to do is lock down the Apple TV in classrooms to a single app. Is it even possible? Yup, Hexnode has a very practical kiosk solution that will help set up Apple TV in the classrooms to run on a single app. The users won’t be able to exit the app. Thus, the Apple TVs won’t be misused.

Featured resource

Hexnode Kiosk Solution

Get a glimpse of how easy it is to achieve a purpose-specific environment in your organization with Hexnode.

Download datasheet

The admin can lock down the Apple TV to an enterprise or store app as per school requirements. However, an Apple TV can have only one kiosk profile at any given time. Also, be sure to install the app on the Apple TV before configuring the Apple TV in the classroom to run only that app.

Configurations:

Hexnode also allows you to tweak the settings and configure AirPlay and conference room display for better management and security of the Apple TVs deployed in the classrooms.

With just a few clicks, you can remotely push a wide range of new policies across multiple devices using Hexnode’s Deploy Custom Configuration tool. Standardize the settings for diverse device functionalities using custom configuration profiles. These profiles specify particular enterprise endpoint settings, including Wi-Fi configurations, AirPrint requirements, and email customizations.

So you see, Hexnode provides widespread yet concentrated control over Apple TVs deployed across schools.

Finally…

There is no denying the fact that the integration of Apple TV in classrooms can be a game-changer for the classroom experience. Imagine a world where students are fully engaged in interactive and multimedia-rich lessons, where collaboration and teamwork are seamlessly woven into the curriculum, and where distance learning is just a click away.

Apple TV can make all of this a reality, providing new opportunities for engagement, collaboration, and personalization. However, as with any technology, it’s important to approach its integration thoughtfully and strategically, to ensure that it enhances the learning experience and does not become a distraction. Ultimately, the key is to strike a balance between the benefits and challenges and to use Apple TV as a tool to empower students and teachers to reach their full potential.