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Storing and charging class sets of Apple Pencil

We have 4 class sets of 28 Apple Pencils that teachers in our school district can borrow for extended periods of time. I am wondering how to best store and charge them in a classroom setting. Ideally, when the students return the Apple Pencils, the teacher can easily tell if any are missing. Any ideas are much appreciated. Thanks.

Posted on Jun 30, 2022 9:02 AM

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4 replies

Jun 30, 2022 9:28 AM in response to kjames07

Thanks for your reply kjames07. Should have mentioned these are first gen Apple Pencils so the adapters you mentioned + USB hub may be the way to go. Pencils are not specifically paired as in most situations, the students grab a pencil from a bin of Apple Pencil boxes and plug it in to pair it with their iPad. Have looked around for something like the below pencil crayon station (old school idea that allows the teacher to quickly account that all are returned) but have not found anything specific for Apple Pencils. Maybe need to get students to design one that incorporates the adapters.


Jun 30, 2022 9:10 AM in response to loater

Hi, loater!


Are the pencils paired with individual iPads as well? If so, it would be best to keep the pencil/iPad pairs together, as each iPad will be able to charge the pencil as well. If the pencils are borrowed individually, like for a student's personal iPad, that does complicate things. There are adapters that convert the male Lightning plug on a 1st gen pencil to female, and you could use any multi-port USB charger to keep a few pencils at a time charged (would be a lot of manual work). I don't know of an easy way to charge multiple 2nd gen pencils at once, though.

Jun 30, 2022 9:33 AM in response to loater

That stand is a great idea! As far as "pairing," I just meant that if there was a 1:1 iPad/pencil ratio, keeping them together would be the best way to manage it. But a pencil will work with any compatible iPad, so something like what you have pictured (or even that exact station) would actually work great - just have the students return their pencils with the caps on into the slots, and then the teachers could charge them after they've been accounted for. That said, a custom-designed solution that incorporates charging would be a wonderful project! Just be sure you're using quality chargers, as some of the cheaper/sketchier options can damage the pencils' circuitry or batteries.

Storing and charging class sets of Apple Pencil

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