School iPad Deployment

School iPad Deployment - Were thinking about buying iPads for school but where do I start?
A teacher friend of mine asked me recently if I was able to advise them on producing a road-map document to assist their school who are looking to deploy c. 800 iPads/ iTouch to their students.

There is so much information online today to support exactly this, some of the best advice coming from teachers directly involved in the implementation process.
Things to think about:

Components to support the planning of a 1-to-1 iPad program

1. Mission/Vision 
Mission statement, goals, strategic plan or process for building.
2. Strategic Planning Team
Team composition, roles, decision-making process
3. Deployment Planning
Project timelines, calendars - for launch or expansion from cart, shared, or pilot to student-owned or 1-to-1
4. Financing, Funding
Lease vs buy comparison
Planning for sustained funding sources
Warranty or insurance agreements/policies
5. Community Engagement
Communications plans or templates, or sites sharing happenings, including to governors or parents
Press releases
Acceptable user policies, parental or student agreements
6. Content, Instruction
Curricular plans or school-level strategies leveraging iPad + content ecosystem in exciting ways
7. Measurement
Plans for assessing initiative, including what and how you are measuring

After a quick trawl online I would recommend reading the following blogs - all packed full of relevant issues and solutions.
If you want to get a good ROI its worth spending time exploring the issues and logistics. Make sure you do the research before you buy any mobile devices.  When you get the right infrastructure in place you can start as you mean to go on - happy bedtime reading!

10 things to consider before introducing iPads to your classroom

Friendly Guide to Deploying iPads

Creating Lifelong Learners

iPad Deployment

iPad Project

iPod User Group

iPad Academy

Longfield Academy Kent, UK - iPad implementation

5 Reasons why Tablet rollouts can fail

Top 10 tips for personalised learning