Summer projects for your university’s technology programs

With finals quickly wrapping up, now is the time to start planning what summer projects you want to do within your university to make sure you’re ready for summer and fall semesters. To help you decide which projects to tackle, we’ve put together a few ideas that will have students and faculty thanking you—and make your life a little easier.

Update to the latest operating system
If you haven’t updated to El Capitan, now may be the right time. Over the school year, many security patches have been added; by upgrading, you’re able to keep your lab secure and protected from previous vulnerabilities. Seamlessly use an Apple device management solution such as the Casper Suite to deploy the update to all the computers in your lab at a time of your choosing.

Want to really get a jump on things? Start planning ahead for the next upgrade! Stay tuned for Apple’s WWDC event in June to learn about the updates coming out this fall and gain insight into ways your university can leverage these enhancements—and utilize the Casper Suite to implement when available.

Set up a check-in/check-out Mac or iPad system
If your university has or plans to purchase institutionally owned devices, you can offer students and faculty the benefits of utilizing their technology outside the building walls by implementing a cart-based system. During the summer, you’ll be able to create your workflows for handing out devices and returning them, as well as a workflow for wiping the devices once returned. Summer is the perfect time to pilot the program with a small group of students and faculty on campus.

Once in place, this system gives students access to resources they need regardless of their location, and greatly helps students who do not personally own a device or those who may be waiting for a device to be repaired following a mishap.

Implementing iBeacon for printers
iBeacons are a great way to ensure users get the right technology at the right time. You can set up iBeacon transmitters near your printers to make sure managed devices are able to easily print to the nearest printer.

This is a great benefit for faculty who travel from building to building. Once their device identifies the nearest iBeacon printer transmitter, it can be configured to respond directly to that printer—making printing less of a hassle for faculty.

To learn more about iBeacons and their benefits, read our blog.

Take advantage of the ‘downtime’
With foot traffic being significantly less over the summer, now is the time to push the limits and see what your technology can do to positively impact faculty and students. With more downtime and less commotion over the summer, you can be proactive for the semester and school year by testing different workflows, trying new technologies, and piloting new initiatives so you’ll be able to provide the best technology experience for your users.