Albion
Albion
Why Apple?
Aiming to establish a sense of continuity across the school’s technology, Brentwood first began collaborating with Albion 15 years ago with their deployment of iMac suites. They were interested in a device with the capabilities to facilitate every aspect of the curriculum’s teaching and learning effectively. MacBook Air offered just that, at a much lower total cost of ownership than its PC equivalents – making it the obvious choice.
The perfect fit
Since then, Brentwood has been growing and the school’s scheme has evolved with it, finding the perfect fit for them, using a mixture of iPad and MacBook devices. With their mission to inspire lifelong learning, Brentwood found that using iPad in the lower years and MacBook Air in the upper years was most effective, addressing the shift in focus to exam preparation for older students.
The MacBook Air with its superfast Apple silicon and all-day battery life handles the demands of the senior years with ease. Their work can be stored and organised in one singular device, making the need for carrying multiple heavy books redundant, and replacing time consuming page skimming for specific information with one simple click. For the older years, there is a great emphasis on preparing students for Higher Education or the world of work, as they approach the end of their education journey. By using these industry leading tools today, Brentwood students are preparing for the world of Higher Education and work and staying ahead of the curve.
In the younger years, iPad is an excellent tool for fostering creativity and content creation, allowing for personalised engagement with the curriculum and placing students at the centre of their learning. iPad’s wide range of features allows them to engage with the curriculum in varied formats, to suit their individual learning styles. Real time feedback provision from teachers keeps students engaged and boosts their confidence in their learning. With iPad’s plethora of accessibility features, an inclusive environment in the classroom is cultivated, fostering collaboration. All these lifelong skills are crucial in the development of students and their preparation for their future.
Brentwood’s vision means they always ensure their students are equipped with the latest Apple technology and at the forefront of technological advancement. Last year alone, Albion provided Brentwood with 375 MacBook Air and over 1200 iPad as part of their technology refresh. By staying ahead of the curve when it comes to technological innovation, Brentwood ensures that all their students possess the technological competencies to thrive in the professional world after their graduation.
The 21st century teaching experience
Unlike students, teachers sometimes find this technological shift slightly more difficult to acclimate to. That’s why Brentwood worked very closely with Albion through our 1:1 iPad scheme to advise them through this journey. Albion guided the school through this transition by creating a timetable of implementation and training focused on their pedagogical vision. The next step was a complete infrastructure set-up to facilitate seamless iPad and MacBook integration into their classrooms.
To make the transition as smooth as possible, Brentwood teachers took part in a series of Albion lead Apple Professional Learning training workshops to prepare them for the phased Apple rollout, from interactive classrooms, to individual students. The aim of these workshops is to establish an internal body of expertise within the school, easing the burden on their IT department and providing scalability prospects within the school’s staff body.
Security made simple
In today’s age of the internet, keeping devices and people safe is a key consideration for all schools. Mobile Device Management (MDM) and other tools, can identify threats, filter content, block malware, and manage applications and passwords on devices with ease, allowing them to simplify secure deployment and endpoint security.
At the start of their implementation, Brentwood were using Jamf Pro for all of their iPad and MacBook devices. However after Albion’s careful evaluation of their MDM needs for iPad rollout, we suggested they switch to Jamf School as we could replicate all the current permissions and apps with a much more simplified interface for all of their IT staff. For their MacBook Air devices, we suggested and supported the adoption of Albion’s MacBook managed service FUSE due their desire for a solution that not only encompassed the MDM component, but also endpoint security and Cloud-based identity management and authentication. With Albion’s fully managed FUSE service, all of these components needed to address their various needs would be consolidated into one product. Jamf and FUSE are both highly scalable software, which is perfect for fast and secure deployment for both iPad and MacBook estates.
A unified voice
Empowering students by giving them a voice is crucial when raising confident and ambitious learners. That’s precisely the reason Brentwood adopted Trilby TV digital signage throughout the school. With Trilby TV, the school can project the same (or different) messaging on multiple screens throughout the school, allowing students to showcase what they are currently working on, making them feel seen around campus. The digital signage also allows the school to keep students and visitors up to date with current school affairs, as well as echo their values and ethos on site, ensuring the right values are instilled in their student body with constant reminders. Trilby TV fosters an environment of community, encouraging everybody to get involved and curating a strong sense of culture within Brentwood.
A successful relationship
Brentwood’s determination to place students at the forefront of education is the driving factor behind Albion’s successful collaboration and long-lasting partnership. The deep care and dedication for their students makes Brentwood stand out as a very ambitious school, eager to learn and work with Albion’s experts closely in order to bring Apple technology into their classrooms in the most effective way. iPad and MacBook Air have paved the way for a more personalised way of learning at Brentwood, providing opportunities to engage with the curriculum in a variety of new ways and inspire students in their learning journeys.
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