14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is not only looking at consumers and the enterprise markets when it comes to upgrading PCs to Windows 10, but it is also targeting the education sector, so the company now has a new app that’s supposed to help IT admins easily install the new OS on school computers.
The intuitively called “Set up School PCs” app is specifically supposed to lend a hand to those who want to prepare computers running Windows 10 for being used by schools and teachers, so it comes with a number of features developed with education in mind.
For instance, it places tiles for OneNote, Office 365 web apps, Sway, and Microsoft Classroom (all of which are supposed to be very helpful in the education sector) on the Start menu, installs OneDrive for easy cloud storage, sets Microsoft Edge as the default browser, and uninstalls apps that aren’t necessarily aimed at schools, including Solitaire and Sports.
Furthermore, it removes the Offers and tips app from Windows 10 and configures systems to block students from adding their own Microsoft accounts to computers.
Prevent students from installing apps
Microsoft says that this app can also help lock down the computer for mischievous activity and prevent students from installing apps or making unwanted changes to PCs, but it can also configure systems to receive updates without interfering with class time.
The best way to use this app for IT admins is to install it on a work device and then let it help you configure all school computers easily.
“For the best results, run the Set up School PCs app on your work device connected to your school's network. That way the app can gather accurate information about your wireless networks and cloud subscriptions,” Microsoft explains, adding that the work computers must obviously be connected to the school’s network.
Certainly, this should help IT admins make the upgrade to Windows 10 a little bit smoother and boost adoption of the new OS in this particular field, as Microsoft is making education one of its priorities in the long term.