Comparing Apple Classroom and Jamf Teacher

Looking for ways to supervise and manage student devices? We’ve got two great tools for that.

Apple Classroom

Apple Classroom is familiar to Bend-La Pine teachers, as it has been available and widely used for some time. Common uses include:

  • Monitoring all student devices at once, displayed on a single screen
  • Locking iPads to a blank screen while giving instructions
  • Launching and locking an entire class or individual students into a specific app
  • Students can AirDrop to their teacher through Apple Classroom
  • Managing small (ad hoc) groups of student devices

The guide linked here provides all the information you need to get started. Check out the important features of Apple Classroom in this short video.

Apple Classroom is ideal for elementary classrooms or any classroom that doesn’t frequently require internet access.

Jamf Teacher

JAMF Teacher is a newer application for Bend-La Pine teachers and offers more restrictive controls than Apple Classroom. Some considerations:

  • Teachers create a pre-determined digital lesson that allows access to specific websites and applications while blocking all others
  • It is best to set time limit to the least amount of time possible, 30 minutes is ideal
  • Jamf Teacher will eliminate folders on student’s home screen

Use the instructions linked here to create your first JAMF Teacher lesson plan. Here’s a handy 1 minute set up video. JAMF Teacher is particularly well-suited for secondary classrooms that use online curricula.

About Tracy Howk

Hi, I'm Tracy. I've been with Bend-La Pine Schools since 2014.