As the end of the school year looms closer, thoughts turn to how you will take up the iPads or whatever device you may use.    It may seem simple, but there are some very important things to consider. Here are just three:

1. How will you actually take them up? Will you send a team to classrooms? Will the students come to you in a designated place like the library? Will you bring them by classes? Will you have teachers gather them and then go to those rooms at the end of the day to retrieve them? Whatever you choose, remember to look at testing schedules, field trip schedules, and talk to the teachers. Many prefer to have them in the students’ hands as long as possible. Make sure students have been trained and told to back up their items frequently over the last few weeks. However you retrieve them, expect some anguish from students when they give up their device.
2. What will you need to do to the devices? Check for damages before students leave. You will need to remove the covers from tablets to look for this. Cleaning is a must, so decide who will do that and teach them the proper technique. From my experience, the devices will be dirtier than you thought possible. A small team can clean them pretty quickly, and you have to know who that is. Do you need to update the devices on charging stations? Do you need to return them to factory settings? These are some of the things to consider for planning your summer schedule.
3. Where will you store them securely? This one requires some thought. Does your building have an area upstairs that would be harder to access? Do you have areas where only one or two people have keys? Do you have shelves, carts, or bookcases where you can store the number of devices you have? Also consider the heat if you live somewhere like Central Texas where the temperatures soar into triple digits multiple times each summer.

These are just a few of the things to consider when you take up devices. More tips on the end-of-the year processes in a 1:1 environment will follow. Please add your own suggestions in the comments!