Q: Best practice for using iMac and multiple iPads

One way you could do it is by creating a Shared Photo Stream and then send the invitation to all of the students' Apple IDs. You could create a "Group" in your Contacts with all of the students' Apple ID/email addresses, then with each new video, create a new Shared Photo Steam that is sent to that Group.

Here's a support article on Shared Photo Streams:

iCloud Photo Sharing FAQ - Apple Support

Cheers,

GB

Yeah - that would be problematic, then. MP4 is supported, but you are limited to 5 minutes:

iCloud Photo Sharing supports both MP4 and QuickTime video file types, and H.264 and MPEG-4 Video file formats. Videos can be up to 5 minutes in length and are delivered at up to 720p resolution.

I would be reticent to give anyone access to your system or to your personal iCloud account. Have you considered using YouTube or some similar method?

Cheers,

GB

I'm going to bow out and put out a bat call to our iPad experts to see if they can give you any ideas about the best way to accomplish this. I'm just not sure where to point you to from here!

Cheers,

GB

I would look into vimeo or youtube. I know youtube had limited lengths but you can get around some of that by verifying who you are (uploading, then asking them to call you to prove that you're real, not a computer...and it's an auto call, so no sales person or anything)
you could also break your video up into shorter segments to get around the youtube limits

You can also choose to upload your videos public or unlisted...which makes them invisible to anyone that doesn't have the link to them

I don't have a vimeo but it may accommodate your needs.

the bad thing about using iCloud is that, unless you're going to pay for the space, you only get 5 gig, and videos chew up memory like crazy

I would look into what Apple has to offer at www.apple.com/education

Late 2012 Mac mini, OS X El Capitan 10.11.2; Apple Watch, 38 mm silver AL, Watch OS 2.1; iPad Air 2 & iPhone 6+, iOS 9.2