Jamf School vs. Lenovo LanSchool

Jamf school is amazing at device management as far as tracking devices, installing apps, removing apps, pushing out updates, and putting persons in specific groups or classes based on the needs of the student/teacher. There could be improvement in the instance where you send an iPad for repair and it returns with a new SN and you have to swap out the license from one SN to another.

Incentivized

I have recommended it across campus and would not hesitate to do so again. It has been great in our lab environments and would like to continue using it for years to come. In the future as we move away from physical labs I will be investigating to purchase for BYOD devices, however I know that I will face pushback from students on this. However we must weigh privacy & security vs. using BYOD devices and integrity on exams.

Incentivized

• Concise management
• Data tracking
• Instructional tool

Incentivized

• Lenovo LanSchool has a very easy to use and easy to learn interface. With software, the hardest thing to do is to teach new teachers or veteran teachers how to use technology in their classrooms. Being able to easily teach teachers to use this software is one of the best aspects of the [Lenovo LanSchool].
• Something that LanSchool does well is to monitor student actions. On the screens, you can see all the linked computers of all students. This feature lets you see every student on one screen. The alternative is walking around the classroom or scrolling through pages of student screens, with LanSchool you can guarantee that you are seeing all screens at once.
• Overall classroom management is a key feature on the platform. You can share files, freeze student screens, blank out student screens and share another screen to the entire class. There are far more options in terms of engaging the students than a conventional method of asking students to pay attention. Installing LanSchool is a huge asset for teachers to engage and update their lessons.
• A cool element I seldom use is the speaking software, being able to speak through their computer screens is great to give direction or get attention quickly.

Incentivized

• Steep learning curve
• Cannot track MacBook locations
• Unassigning and Reassigning devices when changing SNs from repairs is complicated

Incentivized

• Messaging could be improved for notification when messages are sent.
• When multiple users use the same computer, sometimes LanSchool needs to be restarted to show changes in usernames.
• You can save layouts, but I would like more options for how to arrange the layout you see the computers on your screen.

Incentivized

For the most part, Jamf School does everything it is programmed to do. However, there are a few instances where we have run into snags. This is to be expected with any software though and working customer support has always been helpful. Customer support does their best to help with each scenario we've had issues with.

Incentivized

We originally tried an MDM from Cisco and it did not deliver in useability or features like Jamf

Incentivized

VNC Connect required you to manually add the "client" workstations to the "dashboard".

Incentivized

• Significantly reduced the time of managing devices on the class or using configurator

Incentivized

• Helps us serve thousands of students each year
• Has helped us improve classroom management
• Saves us time with technology set up (e.g. being able to do all from Lanschool, not having to set up each individual computer every day)

Incentivized