ALL ABOUT APPS
MobileMind Best Practice Series
What are the best practices for publishing apps in AirWatch?
Applications are the most common way for mobile devices to be utilized in a classroom setting. While it is up to the teacher or district to determine which apps are to be used, AirWatch is the deployment solution. The question is not what is the most efficient way to deploy apps, but how to deploy apps to student devices in the manner that syncs with the mobile initiative the school is using.
This post covers MobileMind's best practice recommendations for leveraging AirWatch to publish apps in ways that are specific to Education and recommendations surrounding publishing apps to meet the needs of a variety of mobile initiative models.
DEP, VPP, & U13
Apple has 3 programs within DEP to assist in an Apple Mobile Device Deployment.
Device Enrollment Program (DEP): Designed to enroll devices purchased from Apple Education Enterprise easily, supervise wirelessly, and link to MDM software seamlessly
Volume Purchase Program (VPP): Designed to provide educational entities a discounted rate for large purchases of apps and a distribution method for large amounts of apps when linked to an MDM
Apple ID creation for students under the age of 13 (U13): Designed to link parent email accounts with student Apple IDs if students are under the age of 13 to align with COPPA laws.
There are several details to take into consideration with DEP:
- When a school or district enrolls in DEP, regardless of pre-DEP VPP accounts, the school or district must make a new VPP account that links all accounts into DEP. VPP accounts cannot be transferred.
- A district can have multiple VPP accounts within AirWatch and sTokens are assigned to different Organization Levels to account for school level app budgets.
- U13 is the most arduous part of a deployment as parents don't always have access to internet, email accounts, or are technology savvy. Having a plan in place is vital to students having Apple IDs in time for a deployment. (MobileMind has plans that can be customized to any situation.)
Smart Groups
Smart groups can be configured in 2 ways:
Select Criteria
- use with large groups of devices (100+)
- determine Smart group using parameters like: Organization Group, User Group, Exclusions, device model, etc.
- easiest way to align devices with Organization Groups
Select Devices
- use with smaller groups
- add devices one at a time by user
- create for specific reasons, i.e. discipline, pull out classes, field trips, awarded privileges etc.
App Catalog and Restricted App Mode
- As with most AirWatch features, the app catalog can be very granular, i.e. multiple catalogs within a console for different schools and publishing to specific Smart Groups to receive apps within a catalog
Restricted App Mode
In order for any app catalog to work, students will need to have access to Apple's app store on their devices. Many schools do not want students to have open access to the Apple app store, so restricted app mode is enabled. This does several things.
- The App Store icon is 'hidden' from student devices although enabled.
- When a student touches an app from the app catalog to download, the Apple App Store icon appears and the app downloads.
- When the app is finished downloading, the Apple App Store icon is 'hidden' again.
Caution:
When using Restricted App Mode, it is vital to have a whitelist/ blacklist compliance policy in place because students have access to the full Apple App Store while the icon is present.
Apple Best Practice states that each user should have his/her own Apple ID even when using a shared devices model.
App Publishing: 3 Models
Essentially there are 3 ways to publish apps to student devices from within the AIrWatch Console. Whomever is assigned to push apps to student devices will have to determine which method is right for the situation.
Auto
This will send the app directly to student devices in a Smart Group. Students will get a push notification on their devices and will have to access the app and enter their personal Apple ID in order for the app to download to their devices.
On Demand
This selection will send the app to the app catalog and students will be able to download the app at will. Again, students will have to enter their personal Apple ID in order for the app to download to their devices.
Shared Devices
In a shared device model, schools should use VPP to distribute all apps, both public and purchased, to devices using auto to push apps. This eliminates the need to enter a personal Apple ID as the shared devices are using the overall district VPP account as the Apple ID.
The bottom line
Publishing apps to multiple devices in the same instance is something schools find to be one of the most useful aspects of AirWatch. There are myriad ways to push out Apps to student devices depending on a number of different factors. MobileMind can help ensure that your district is able to properly push Apps in alignment with your initiatives.
About Us
MobileMind enables technology in Education
We provide the software, implementation, support, and professional development required for integrating mobile technology into K-12 schools, colleges, and universities.
Email: info@mobilemind.co
Website: mobilemind.co
Location: 1117 Perimeter Center West, Atlanta, GA, United States
Phone: (404) 594-6424
Twitter: @mobilemind_edu
Other product and company names, such as Apple® and AirWatch®, referenced are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.