Hey All -- I'm slowly but surely converting the school that I direct to apple and away from those clunky pc's. Bought 10 ipads and the I.T. dudes are in a quandry as to how to set them up so that apps/licenses can be shared or at least not duplicated; how to most cost effectively purchase apps, how to allow teachers/administrators who will be using them to have some freedom to download their own music and apps but not delete those that we (the school) provide. Am I in the right place or is there a more appropriate educational/multi-set-up site?
Just some random observations off the top of my head. I'd suggest contacting Apple directly regarding bulk purchases (of apps and hardware) for educational institutions. Apple is heavily involved in the ed marketplace and I'm sure a few inquiries directly would lead you (or your IT department) to the right folks.
As for administering the iPads as you describe, I think you're going to have problems. Although "jailbroken" iPads can be configured to password protect specific applications, that feature is not available in the stock iPad configuration. And with the latest iOS update, it's my impression that the vulnerability that enabled jailbreaking the iPad 2 was closed. How long that will remain the case is anyone's guess.
Furthermore, I'm not sure you want your school to be trying to get special pricing consideration from Apple on one hand and jailbreaking your iPads on the other.
Ideally, of course, the iPad would support something like individual (password protected) accounts where administrative control could be tailored to your organization's requirements. Sorry. Not there. Nor, as far as I know, is there any way to "share" licensed content beyond the "home sharing" feature of iTunes. You might explore that but I have a feeling it won't meet your needs to share applications.
