Times change, and the instructions that appeared on this page reflected reality of almost a year ago.  It was determined that the page needed a re-fresh, so we set to it.

If you would prefer to see this information in smaller, bite-sized chunks, you can find it in website form here.

If you're looking for more of an intermediate- to advanced-user guide, look at the next post or find it in website form here.

Setting Up Your iPads for Use in YRDSB

Please read this entire document before getting started!  There are many things to consider before you make decisions about your new or borrowed iPods/iPads.  This document is based on iOS6 and iTunes version 11.0.1 on a Mac.

These instructions are based on what we understand to be a good balance between security and openness in an attempt to maximize the impact of iDevices on student learning and achievement.  They seem long, but in many ways are not complete; it's a tangled web to sort through Apple's Terms of Use and make it work in the classroom.  Keep in mind that iPad and iPods are intended to be consumer-use, personal device.  Using them and managing them in the classroom context as shared devices presents unique opportunities and challenges.

Quick Start Guide
(This is not intended to replace the rest of the document; rather, to give you an idea of how to
quickly proceed with your purchase or loan of these devices)

Step 1 - Setup an iTunes account

Step 2 - Watch video of device setup  (see also below)

Step 3 - Connect device to the managing Mac computer (‘the mother ship’) and name the devices within iTunes (see section 13)

Step 4 - Download apps

Step 5 - Establish protocols for security, recharging, backup and overall management

Step 6 - Integrate your devices into the classroom learning process

IMPORTANT: iPads/iPods do NOT sign out of your network when they go to sleep or are turned off.  They stay signed in to the user's login until they are told to 'forget' it.  AS YOU FINISH USING AN IPAD OR IPOD, your last action MUST BE to log out of the network.  Without doing so, any subsequent users of that device will be surfing and downloading content using YOUR login - and YOU will need to demonstrate that it wasn't you going to those websites, or sending that threatening message, or whatever else they do.

To log out of the network, go to Settings>Wi-Fi>click on the blue arrow to the right of YRDSB-S>Forget This Network>Forget.

The next person will have to enter their own login information in order to connect to the network.


Index:
Before the iPads

What You Need to Know

Assigning a ‘Mother Ship’

iTunes Accounts

Setting up Your Devices

Initial Device Configuration

Settings & Restrictions

Adding Apps

First Sync: Connecting the Master iPad to the Mother Ship

Syncing the Rest of the Fleet

Ongoing Management

Syncing and Backup

Multiple Libraries

Network Access

Power Management

iCloud

Cases

Returning Loaned Devices

For copies, updates, corrections of this document, please contact:
Jim Jamieson (jim.jamieson@yrdsb.edu.on.ca)

or

Jason Eygenraam (jason.eygenraam@yrdsb.edu.on.ca)
Many thanks to Sholom Eisenstat (sholom.eisenstat@yrdsb.edu.on.ca) for support in the development of this document.



Before the iPads:
What You Need to Know
iPod Touch and iPad devices should not be considered typical classroom computers. These are powerful tools that will add to the valuable uses of technology in the classroom. There are advantages to these small, portable, personal devices and there are times where more robust computing power, as in the desktop or lab configuration, will be more useful. iPads and iPods do NOT replace desktop computers. They do not run the familiar software that is available on the YRDSB workstations throughout the Board.

In classrooms throughout the Board, students are using them in many ways including the following:

○ research

○ recording audio and/or video

○ note-taking

○ mind-mapping

○ viewing media from Discovery Channel or Learn360

○ recording of reading practice

○ playback of recorded lessons

○ digital textbooks

○ creation and remixing of content

The iPad is an instant-on, readily shareable device.  It has rich video capabilities and many, many apps that enable users to research, create, collaborate, re-mix and innovate.  On the other hand, all of the content on it must be shared; there is no way to create unique user accounts for the different people using it.  The setup and management of the iDevices can take significant time and must be done thoughtfully to maximize their potential to enhance and support learning.

iPads are not for everyone, nor will they do some of the things you really want them to do.  They were designed to be personal devices, not shared between students and classes.

If you purchased the iPads, the first thing that needs to happen is that the TST (Technology Support Technician) needs to inventory and asset-tag them.  Nobody should touch them or play with them until this happens.

You should seriously consider how to mark the devices as belonging to your school.  Engraving is a great method of doing this, since stickers or labels can be peeled off.  Your school’s custodial staff may have one.  The asset tag isn’t sufficient, as you may not have access to the inventory to know for certain where that iPad belongs.

Assigning a ‘Mother Ship’ (Master Computer)
A master computer will store and manage all the software and resources that are installed on the devices. This will include the library of ‘apps’, books, etc. as well as the iTunes software to manage the library and the device configuration. It is not necessary to dedicate a computer solely to this purpose but this computer must be available to the teacher managing the devices as needed. A laptop is most convenient.

The ideal way to do this is to take the Mac you will be using, and create an admin-level account on it for the purposes of managing the iTunes account.  We recommend the new login is called ‘Mother Ship’ for simplicity’s sake.  That login is the only one that will be able to access the iTunes account, and it must be admin-level so regular updates can be made from it.  We strongly suggest that the existing Admin account not be used for this, so that login is not shared out with anyone it shouldn’t be (which means pretty much everyone!).

The new login may be created by your TST (Technology Support Technician), though a Literacy@School teacher may have the ability to do this as well.  If neither of these are options, contact your DLRT for help.

The only people with the username and password for the mothership login should be the one staff member managing the iPads, and one or more of the school’s administrators.

If a Mac computer can’t be used for managing the devices, then another school computer that does NOT have a SchoolConnect (classroom) image on it must be used.  The next natural option is a Principal or VP’s laptop, though this is far from ideal for obvious reasons.

iTunes Accounts
You must create at least one iTunes account to manage your devices. We do not recommend using a personal iTunes account to manage YRDSB or school-owned devices. It’s best if an account is created with no connection to a credit card and in the name of the school or department (see below).  

Ask your admin if there already is an iTunes account for the school, if not, get permission to set one up.  We suggest creating a school, department or class iTunes account which is used solely for management of the iPods/iPads .  

This process of creating a new iTunes account starts by first downloading a free app from the Apps Store or iTunes.  This is the only way that you can automatically start the process of creating an account with the payment option of ‘no credit card’.

The iTunes account should be teacher independent (ie. login should be Schoolname.PS@yrdsb.edu.on.ca or Schoolname.SS@yrdsb.edu.on.ca).  If the school already has an iTunes account in use, create a new email account (MDHSiTunes@gmail.com, for example) to use for creating a second account.  Ensure that your Principal and/or VP(s) are aware of the account and have all login and security information.  You will need to record the information you use when setting up the account, including birthdate* and other data, so it can be passed on to your admin or the next iTunes account manager. (*Please don’t choose a recent date for this - if you say you are 13 or under, you won’t be allowed to continue.)

A complete set of instructions for the setup process can be found here in the Apple Support Community.

It’s important to keep the password for iTunes well-guarded, particularly if there is a credit card attached to it. Do not give it out to anyone besides the person managing the iTunes account and the school administration. When you are finished downloading apps or app updates, the password for the account remains active for the next 15 minutes or until the owner logs out.  If the device(s) are passed on to others in that time-frame, purchases can continue to be made using the master account’s payment method (if any).

Apps which are downloaded on an individual device using a personal (ie. student’s or teacher’s) iTunes account will remain on the individual device but will not be transferred back to the iTunes library on the managing computer.   Anyone can login to their iTunes account on any device.  In other words, if a class signs out the iPads and a teacher (or student) adds an app to them, that app belongs to the person who downloaded it and the app will not and can not become a part of the school’s library of apps.



Setting Up Your Devices

Initial Device Configuration
When you take the iPad out of the box (smell that new iPad smell!), turn it on using the power button at the top right of the case.  This device will become your ‘Master iPad’.  Swipe you finger at the bottom of the screen where you see the prompt.

1. Choose your language (English) and touch the 'NEXT' arrow at the top right of the screen
2. Choose your country (Canada) and touch the 'NEXT' button at the top right of the screen
3. Choose a wi-fi network, put in your login credentials and touch ‘join’
4. Accept the certificate and touch the 'NEXT' button at the top right of the screen
5. Once the iPad is activated, choose ‘Enable Location Services’ and touch the 'NEXT' button at the top right of the screen
6. a)  For your first device, choose ‘Set Up as New iPad’ and touch the 'NEXT' button at the top right of the screen

b) For subsequent devices, choose ‘Restore from iTunes Backup’ and touch the 'NEXT' button at the top right of the screen.  You will be prompted to plug the device into your computer and launch iTunes; please do so and follow the prompts within the program.  Please see ‘Syncing the Rest of Your Fleet’ for more information.

7. Choose to ‘Sign In with an Apple ID’ using the account you created previously.
8. Put in your Apple ID - it’s the email address you used to sign up for the account, plus your password - and touch the 'NEXT' button at the top right of the screen
9. Agree to the terms and conditions at the bottom right of the next screen, and again on the popup
10. Choose ‘Don’t Use iCloud*’ and touch the 'NEXT' button at the top right of the screen**
11. If it will allow you, uncheck any boxes that have a checkmark next to it for Messaging (trust us on this one...) and touch the 'NEXT' button at the top right of the screen.  If it won’t allow you to uncheck all Messaging options, you can alter this later by going into Settings>Messages>turn it off at the top of the screen
12. Choose Use Siri - it gives you the option of voice-to-text in certain applications - and touch the 'NEXT' button at the top right of the screen
13. Choose whether or not you want to send diagnostics & usage information to Apple - most will choose ‘Don’t Send’ and touch the 'NEXT' button at the top right of the screen
14. Choose ‘Start Using iPad’.
15. Dismiss the Siri prompt.

Our suggested first activity if for you to open the Camera app, and choose ‘Don’t Allow’ at the popup asking you if you want your photos and videos to be tagged.  If you don’t, any photo and video you take will will have the GPS location of where it was taken embedded in it, which allows others to track the location of the photo.

Settings and Restrictions
We strongly recommend using restrictions to make it more likely that the iPads stay in the condition they started out in.  You can lock users out of a number of things that could otherwise mess up your settings.

The following settings are important to change:

1. Go into Settings.
2. Turn off Bluetooth (third from the top left) to improve battery life.
3. Touch iCloud, about half-way down on the left.
1. You may be prompted to choose if iCloud can use Location Services - choose Allow
2. Turn off Mail, Notes, and Photo Stream
3. **Ensure Find My iPad (at the bottom of the list on the right) is On
4. Go to Messages, and turn off iMessage
5. In  iTunes & App Stores, turn on Automatic Downloads for Music and Apps
6. Under Photos and Camera; turn off My Photo Stream and Shared Photo Streams

Restrictions

7. Choose General near the top of the left column
8. Choose Restrictions, about half-way down in the right column.
9. At the top, touch Enable Restrictions.
10. You will need to input a four-digit code twice.  Please make a note of it somewhere - forgetting it will cause problems later!  Don’t make it too easy to guess.
11. From the top section, turn off:
1. FaceTime (it’s blocked on our network anyway)
2. Deleting Apps
3. Explicit Language
12. Further down, turn off Explicit Content in Allowed Content for Music and Podcasts.  This will change it to ‘Clean’.
13. Turn off In-App Purchases.
14. You may choose to Require Password immediately, instead of giving yourself 15 minutes.
15. Continue down to Privacy, select Location Services and ensure Siri and Find My iPad are on. Now  select Don’t Allow Changes from the top of the screen.
16. Under Facebook, choose Don’t Allow Changes; for Twitter, it’s your choice.
17. For Accounts, choose Don’t Allow Changes.
18. Turn off Multiplayer Games and Adding Friends.

Though it’s not essential, it’s recommended that under General that you set Use Side Switch to ‘Lock Rotation’.

Once you’re back to your Home screen, start by opening the Camera app.  It asks you if you if the camera can use Location Services for geo-tagging photos.  Please choose Don’t Allow, so GPS information won’t be included in the ‘metadata’ of the photos and videos taken with this iPad.


Adding Apps
Keep in mind that your school budget may or may not have money to put towards purchasing apps. You may be limited to free apps and should certainly investigate the abundance of valuable apps available at no charge.  Check with admin in your school about paying for apps or resources before you do so. At this time, there is no YRDSB provision for this process although there is a plan in development to have a P-card assigned to each school that can be used to pay for app purchases on iDevices.  If you do wish to purchase paid apps or other content, the best way at the moment is to purchase iTunes gift cards and do your purchasing through the mother ship.  If you have multiple accounts, please realize that the gift card can only be used with one account so you may be better off buying several gift cards of smaller denominations.  You are responsible for all charges made to your account!

Legally, a copy of every non-free app must be purchased for each instance that it will be installed on a device. Ten copies of a paid app must be purchased for ten devices. At the moment, the Volume Purchase Program (VPP) is not available, though the Board and Apple are working toward its implementation.  iTunes does not provide an easy way to distribute paid-for apps to a group of devices etc. An app may only be purchased once through an iTunes account.  The only way to legally accomplish this without the VPP is to manage each iPad using a unique iTunes account and download apps, paid or free to each one. You will not be able to ‘Restore from Backup’ as we suggest as a method for managing your fleet of iDevices.
You can add apps using iTunes on your computer or right on your iPad.

To add apps using the iPad, click on the App Store icon

You will be prompted to decide if you want to download a few free apps, including iBooks, iTunes U, Podcasts, Find My Friends and Find My iPhone.  iBooks and  Podcasts are good ones to have, and Find My iPhone is essential.  

At the bottom of the App Store screen, ensure Featured or Top Charts  is selected, and enter the name of an app, a category, or app designer into the search box in the top right of the screen.  You can also narrow down your search results using the menu bar at the top of the screen.  Categories include Games, Education, Newsstand and More.

Once you’ve found an app you want to load, click on its icon on the screen, and a preview window will open that provides you with more information about that app.  If you aren’t familiar with the app, you may wish to read through the details, ratings and reviews to see if it’s really one that you’re interested in.  If so, click on the button next to the bottom right of the app icon where you see the cost of the app displayed (it may also say ‘FREE’).  The button changes to green and reads ‘Install App’; touch it again to begin downloading that app.  Once the download has begun, you may go and choose other apps without interrupting that first app download process.  If you have Automatic Downloads on, the app will automatically download to each device managed with the same iTunes account (hence the term, Automatic Downloads).

To add apps using iTunes on your computer, open up iTunes.  

1. Click on the iTUnes Store link in the top right corner of the window
2. From the top middle of the screen, choose App Store
3. Search for the app name, type or developer that you want by typing it in the Search box
4. Notice that the iPhone apps are at the top, and iPad apps below that.  For more information about that app, click on the icon of the app; a new window opens with details, screenshots and reviews.  

Choose the app (if any) from the ones showing, by clicking on the button below the app’s icon that says ‘FREE’ (or the cost of the app).  You will be prompted to put in your password.  If you have Automatic Downloads on, the app will automatically download to each device managed with the same iTunes account (hence the term, Automatic Downloads).

Folders are a good way to organize apps; when you have two or more apps that you want to group together, simply hold your finger on an app for one second, and the apps all start to jiggle (or wiggle, if you’d prefer).  Still holding that app, drag it on top of the other app you want to group it with and release; a folder will open with both apps in it.  You can click on the title bar at the top and change the name of the folder to identify the grouping.  If the devices are going to be used by multiple grades/departments and there are many apps on them, we recommend putting all of the most commonly accessed apps on the ‘Home page’, and then have a different page of apps and folders for each unique group.  Please note that you can not have one app in two different places.

The jiggle/wiggle is also the way you can move apps from one location on the iPad to another.  Again, touch and hold one app for one second, and the apps will jiggle/wiggle.  Holding your finger on the app you want to move, drag it where you want it to be.  If you want it on another page, drag it to the edge of the screen and hold it there for a moment, until the next page appears.  If you have  different departments, classes or divisions using them, you may consider having a different page for each of them to find their content- or level-specific apps on, while having one page where all of the common apps are found, for simplicity’s sake.

First Sync: Connecting the Master iPad to the Mother Ship
This section is to simplify the setup process for configuring your fleet of  iPads for use. Please ensure you have completed the device setup for the Master iPad in its entirety including the Restrictions outlined above.

1. The first step is to perform a backup of your Master iPad. You do this by plugging it into the mothership, launching iTunes and then clicking on the iPad icon at the top right of the screen. In the Backups block, ensure that ‘This Computer’** is selected for Automatic Backups and in the Options block, both ‘Open iTunes when this iPad is Connected’ and ‘Sync this iPad over Wi-Fi are selected.  Now you are ready to select ‘Back Up Now’  in the Backups block

2. Eject the Master iPad when the backup is complete, by clicking on the eject icon next to the name of the device at the top left of your screen
3. Unplug your device once its name disappears from the screen

Syncing the Rest of Your Fleet

4. Plug in the next iPad.
5. Select the iPad using  the button at the top right of the iTunes screen.

6. Choose to Restore from this backup, then choose Continue.  It may take a few minutes, depending on how much data is on the master iPad:

7. To change the name on a device, double-click on the name of the device at the top of screen. Give it an appropriate name (like APS 2, or MDHS 2) then hit Enter on your keyboard.
8. You can sync more than one device at a time, though it’s recommended that you space out the timing

Ongoing Management

Syncing and Backup
Syncing is the management operation which moves software, apps, podcasts, etc, between your device and managing computer to standardize their content.  Please note that syncing and backing up are different processes; backing up is the process of making a copy of the data and apps on a mobile device.  Backing up includes syncing, but not vice-versa.  Backing up should be done roughly once per month.

To sync your devices over wi-fi, you must enable that function within iTunes on the managing computer (see Step 1 under ‘First Sync’).   This method allows you to sync when the iPads are plugged in to charge and iTunes is open on the mothership.  To activate this option, you must initially connect the device(s) via USB to the managing computer, and click on the name of the device at the top right of the iTunes screen. When looking at that device’s Summary screen, scroll down, and select the check-box that says “Sync with this iPad over Wi-Fi” (down near the bottom, the second option in the Options section).

With USB cables, you can sync multiple devices to the managing computer simultaneously.  This works very well in a Bretford cart or tray.  Direct connection of your iDevices to the managing computer will be the fastest way to sync them and update their apps.  Syncing does not charge the battery of a device, though that may happen concurrently, for example if you are using a Bretford cart/tray, or are syncing over Wi-Fi.  Syncing does not need to occur on a regular or frequent basis but only when there is data, apps or resources to be transferred between the master computer’s iTunes account and the iDevice.  Syncing is automatically set up to occur when a device is plugged into the  managing computer.


Multiple iTunes Libraries
It is possible to manage various completely different sets of iPads from one iTunes account on one computer. Effectively you would be using completely different iTunes libraries, one for each set of devices, or one for each device if appropriate.  To do this, hold down the OPTION (Mac) or SHIFT (Windows) key while booting iTunes. This will enable you to create a new library or choose from the various iTunes libraries on that machine. Please note  that each of these iTunes libraries is completely distinct. You will not be able to move resources from one library to a device which is synced to another library.  If you have multiple iTunes libraries on a computer, iTunes will default to the last library used if you do not hold down the OPTION or SHIFT key when starting iTunes.


Network Access
You and your students will be able to connect to the YRDSB-S network with iPads and iPods using your Board issued login and password information.  Students MUST log off the network when completing a session using a shared device. This insures that their network account cannot be compromised. These devices do NOT ‘forget’ about their last successful network login when going to sleep or being turned off.

STUDENTS MUST LOG IN AND LOG OUT AT EACH USE !

To log out of the Wi-Fi at the end of a session, users should go to
Settings>Wi-Fi>YRDSB-S>Forget This Network.

When a user starts using an app that requires Internet access, they are prompted to join a network. The username and password are your Board login.  For staff it is firstname.lastname and your password; for students their username is their student number. After inputting your username and password, you will be asked to Accept a Thawte Certificate; choose Accept.


Power Management
The iPad battery provides up to 10 hours of use on a single full charge.  Don’t re-charge them every night and weekend!  This reduces battery performance and life expectancy.  If you’re returning the device between classes and the battery is at 80%, don’t plug it in!  The iPad 2 takes about five hours to charge from empty to full, and the new iPad (versions 3 and 4) reportedly takes 7-8 hours.  Ideally, iPads will be completely drained before being fully recharged but that’s not realistic in a school setting.  A good rule of thumb is that if they are being drained by roughly 40% every day, then they should be re-charged every other night.  If you are charging your devices using a power bar, you may want to consider using a timer so the devices aren’t plugged in for many more hours than they need to be. If you are using a Bretford cart or tray, charging stops when the batteries are fully charged.  If you don’t use a Bretford cart/tray, it is best to have a well ventilated secure area for charging.

Keep in mind that when the device goes to sleep, it’s not shutting down.  It is a good idea to completely shut down the iPads every few days, as they can behave somewhat erratically at times if they are not shut down for days at a time.


iCloud
Apple provided iCloud as an alternative to using a computer to manage a personal iTunes account.  However, in our YRDSB context, iCloud does not provide a workable alternative to using a mothership for syncing and managing your iDevice fleet.  iCloud does not provide sufficient capabilities or storage space to effectively manage in our context.

Cases
There are many options for protective cases from those found at the dollar store to some that are up to military specs for close to $100.  Our Board is currently investigating some options that are somewhere in the mid-range of those for cost, while still protecting the device well.  These choices will be posted on this page when that information becomes available.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to cases. A tough, more expensive case protects it from damage when it gets dropped. A cheaper case that provides a bit of grip stops it from dropping in the first place.  Another option is to combine these properties in one case, which generally means you are spending about $40 to provide some degree of prevention and protection.

Returning Loaned Devices to the Media Resources Library
Please ensure that all personal information and non-standard apps are removed from all devices by reseting each of the iDevices.  Go to Settings>General>Reset>Reset >Erase all content and settings.  YRDSB takes no responsibility for charges accrued to any personal iTunes account used for school devices or otherwise.

Ongoing Management of iPads at YRDSB

There is some overlap between this post and the one that deals with how to set up your new iPads within the YRDSB domain, but we want to ensure that all bases are covered, so you have both within the same blog.  You may wish to scan through the other one to see what other information is available.  The premise of this post is that you already have the devices, not that you're starting out from scratch.

If you would prefer to see this broken up into smaller chunks, please visit this website.

Managing My Fleet of iPads (or is it a flock?):  Best practices for sharing devices among classes.  Let’s begin to standardize...

Index:
1. Starting Out
2. Standardizing the iPads
3. Adding apps
4. Paid Apps
5. Updating Apps
6. Storage, Security and Syncing
7. Breakage and Repair
8. Cases


Starting Out
If you are just receiving your brand-new YRDSB iPads, information relevant to your situation is found here.  You will want to come back to this site later, though, as it deals more with the ongoing management of the devices.

Now that you have your iPads, things move beyond their initial set-up to their ongoing management and upkeep.  You have distributed iPads throughout the school to optimize their usage and potential, and we will offer our suggestions for best practices for use, management and security.

If you have groups of iPads that are located around the school for different purposes, we still recommend (in most cases) that one person manages them for simplicity’s sake.  Please note that your TST (Technology Support Technician) is NOT responsible for setting up, managing or repairing iPads.  Our suggested strategy is to develop and maintain a standard setup for all iPads making them all look identical.  People will quickly learn where the apps they need are located, and it makes management much more manageable.We are strongly recommending that sticking to the old adage of “keep it simple” is the best way to go.  Having one standard ‘image’ on all of your iPads will make managing them much easier, rather than trying to stay on top of which apps are on which devices.

Please note that these suggestions are based on our current environment.  We don’t have the Volume Purchase Program (VPP) agreement in place with Apple yet, so this document does not include information about it.  

Once you set up your iPads by adding an iTunes account to them and setting operating restrictions, you will want to load apps beyond the “native” apps that come with the device.  There are over 1 000 000 apps available on the App Store.... some of them are terrific and provide tremendous potential for learning; others aren’t worth the download even if they are free.

Our suggestion about which apps to put on is to be selective; it’s easy to download every app you hear about, or that’s highly rated in the education app store, but that isn’t very practical.  There are many blogs and websites that claim to have the “50 best apps for classrooms” or a similar title, but please take their suggestions with a grain of salt. Test them out yourself and/or talk with other teachers who have used them before blindly adding them to your library.  Spend some time looking at multiple reviews and evaluate how appropriate and/or useful the app is by using evaluation rubrics like at those you can find at the Learning In Hand blog  or TCEA App Evaluation Rubric.  

When you do choose apps, try to limit yourself to the best 20-30 you find trying to ensure that you address a variety of tasks that the users can accomplish.  Each situation will be somewhat unique and the number of apps you choose may vary significantly depending on your situation.  For instance, if the devices are shared amongst several grade levels or departments, the needs will be fairly disparate and the number of apps you load on will need to be more flexible.  Consider how each app supports student learning and their ability to demonstrate their understanding.  Consider broad categories such as collaboration, communication, creation, research and even assessment as you plan your app deployment.  We recommend against loading up a lot of drill-and-kill, flash-card-based apps (the iPad is a rather expensive flash-card tool) or content-based apps that can only be used for a single lesson.  




Standardizing the iPads

Please see the Paid Apps section if you have paid for apps, before you follow this procedure.

Once you have your apps chosen, load them on one iPad (the ‘Master’) and arrange them the way you want them.  Folders are a good way to organize apps; when you have two or more apps that you want to group together, simply hold your finger on an app for one second, and the apps all start to jiggle (or wiggle, if you’d prefer).  Still holding that app, drag it on top of the other app you want to group it with and release; a folder will open with both apps in it.  You can click on the title bar at the top and change the name of the folder to identify the grouping.  If the devices are going to be used by multiple grades/departments and there are many apps on them, we recommend putting all of the most commonly accessed apps on the ‘Home page’, and then have a different page of apps and folders for each unique group.  Please note that you can not have one app in two different places.

Once all the apps are loaded and organized on the Master iPad, we suggest that you turn on Automatic Downloads so that new apps are automatically added to every restored device when ‘purchased’ in the future.   You do this by choosing Settings>iTunes and App Stores> turn on Automatic Downloads for Apps.  You may want to do it for Music and Books in case they are downloaded as well.

Now plug the Master iPad into the “Mother Ship” (a MacBook designated to manage the iPad fleet) and do a backup to that computer (NOT to iCloud).  Unplug that iPad, and plug in the other iPad(s) you have, either one or two at a time, or all of them at once if you have a Bretford charging/syncing cart or shelf.

• Re-set each iPad, using the button on the device’s Summary page in iTunes.
• When it comes back on-line, choose to set it up from a backup instead of ‘as a new iPad’ - and choose the backup you just completed.  It will take a little time, depending on how much data is on that master iPad. If you have lots of apps and/or folders, your apps may come out disorganized and not in folders*.

*If your preference is to organize your apps in folders and you don’t want to re-build your folders from scratch on each device, follow these steps, sourced from Dan Frakes at Macworld (http://www.macworld.com/article/1159917/ios_restore_folders.html).

In short, you need to Restore the second and subsequent devices - twice! - while they are plugged into iTunes.  The first Restore from Backup is done in the usual way.  The second Restore must be started by right-mouse-clicking (two-fingered click) on the name of the device in the iTunes side-bar to the left.  This strange method seems to be fool-proof, as far as we have seen and heard.

You can give each of your devices unique names in one of two ways.  On the iPad itself choose Settings>General>About>Name to change the name. When the device is plugged into iTunes either slowly click twice on the name of the device on the iTunes sidebar or two-finger click on its name and choose Rename.

Adding apps

One person should have control of the iTunes account.  He or she should be the only person with the password of the account, besides the/a school administrator.  Giving the password out beyond that will muddy the waters and make management more difficult in most cases.  

When someone wants an app added, we suggest that you develop a standard selection process that it goes through.  In Elementary schools, it’s a good idea to submit the app suggestion to the school Principal, along with the cost (if any), and a curriculum rationale for the app.   For Secondary schools, if the iPads ‘belong’ to a department and the apps come out of the departmental budget, then the Head would be the likely person to approve the apps. This process should be followed even for free apps to ensure only quality apps are chosen and to prevent  the iPads from being loaded with hundreds of apps.

You can add apps directly to a device via the App Store.  As long as you have Automatic Downloads turned on for all of the iPads, they will appear on all of the devices.  Please note that apps will show up on  the first available space on the second or third page, not on the Home Screen.  If all iPads have identical layouts when the app is loaded, they should continue to look the same after downloading is complete.  Apps will not, however, move into folders; you will have to do that on each device individually.

*Once we have our volume purchasing plan set up with Apple and can use Configurator for managing apps and devices, it will be a much more streamlined process.  

Paid Apps

When a person buys an app through iTunes for his or her personal device, he or she is able to sync it to all devices associated with that account (currently, with a limit of five devices).  Educational institutions are considered ‘corporate’, which means that every app MUST be purchased separately per device - in other words, one paid app per iPad.  Ten iPads, ten copies of each paid app.

However, once you purchase an app, you can’t purchase it again with that same iTunes account; it’s not an option.  The only way to truly do this without volume licensing and Configurator is to have a separate iTunes account for each device.  This is logistically challenging but it ensures your software licences for paid apps are legal and legitimate.

Following the procedure outlined in the section Standardizing the iPads breaks Apple’s licensing agreement if you have paid apps in the backup that you are restoring your iPads from.  Once volume licensing is in place, we will use Configurator to manage the purchase and distribution of free and paid apps.

Updating Apps

App developers regularly come out with updates for their apps that address bugs, new hardware, new operating systems, and to add new features.  While it is not necessary to update the apps daily, our recommendation is to do it at least once per month.

You must go through the same process on each device to update them.  Touch the App Store icon and then choose Updates, at the bottom right of the screen.  You can update the apps one at a time by touching the Update button beside their name. A more efficient method is to touch Update All found at the top left of your screen (top right for iPod or iPhone).  You may be immediately prompted for your iTunes password; enter it and the updates will download and install, one at a time.  The update process will continue the until it is complete as long as you don’t shut down the device.  If you attempt to open an app while it’s being updated, that will pause the download/install until you un-pause it by touching that app again.

Storage, Security and Syncing

One person needs to take responsibility for the storage, charging and syncing of iPads. Whether that is one person for all of the devices or one person for each group of devices being housed in different locations is a school based decision.  Everyone needs to understand that it is a shared responsibility to care for the devices, or there will come a time when they are not accessible to classes.  

Some schools have given only one device to each classroom.  In this case, there is a temptation to have the teachers administer the device they have, including creating their own iTunes account and purchasing apps for that device.  A problem with this, however, is that the app becomes property of that teacher, even if the school board reimburses them for it - and apps can’t be transferred between accounts.  Therefore, it is still recommended that generic school-based email addresses and iTunes accounts are set up rather than using a teacher’s personal account or email address.

Some schools store all the iPads in one location for charging and syncing, and teachers may sign them all out for the time they are required.  If they are all in one place, it’s best if one person takes responsibility for all of the devices.  It is up to every teacher to ensure that they are returned at the appropriate time so they are ready for the next group to use them, so they can be recharged if necessary and to ensure their secure storage.

Some schools house them in smaller sets in various locations around the school and they can be signed out by classes one group at a time.  This is a great way to enable multiple classes to access the technology, in a centre-based, a student-choice-based approach, or to complement a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program.

While there is not one perfect way to distribute your iPads, ensuring one person has ultimate responsibility for each device is essential, but we must emphasize that everyone shares responsibility for caring for these expensive and highly-sought-after tools.

Most schools have purchased Bretford carts or trays to securely store and charge their devices. This is a good way to ensure they are all put away safely and ready for others to use, but it’s only as good as your procedures and people following them properly.  You should have some rules or norms in place, including:

• All devices are returned once the loan period is over
• The cart is always kept locked, and the combination is known only to a handful of teachers/staff - NO student should have the combination
• The devices should only be signed out to the individual who has booked them (in other words, if you didn’t sign them up, you shouldn’t have them).  This way, it’s easy to see where any device is at any given time - either it’s signed out to a particular person, or it’s in the storage location
• The devices should be clearly marked with a number, and assigned a slot in the cart or tray and everyone should understand that the device goes into the slot that corresponds with its number.  It’s easier to check for missing devices this way.
• The storage container (cart or tray) should also be secured.  Both storage methods make moving a large number of iPads out of a building quick and easy, where the thief can then take their time breaking through the lock.
• Don’t re-charge them every night and weekend.  This reduces battery life.  If you’re returning the device between classes and the battery is at 80%, don’t plug it in!  The iPad 2 takes about five hours to charge from empty to full, and the new iPad (version 3 and 4) reportedly takes 7-8 hours, but if you plug them in every night, the batteries will not last as long.  Ideally, the iPads would be completely drained before being fully recharged, but that’s not realistic in a school setting, so a decent rule of thumb is that if they are being drained by roughly 40% every day, then they should be re-charged every other night.  If you don’t use the Bretford cart or tray, you may want to consider using a timer so the devices aren’t plugged in for many more hours than they need to be .

Some schools have chosen to not purchase carts or trays for storage, syncing and security.  If you choose to go this route, please ensure that you have good security protocols in place, since if the iPads go missing or are stolen, it is up to the school to pay for their replacement.



Breakage and Repair

Your TST (Technology Support Technician) is NOT responsible for setting up, managing or repairing iPads.

Apple has a one-year warranty on iPads.  This covers you if something stops working, or if the battery won’t hold a charge, but not wear-and-tear.  You can access this warranty by creating a Heat Ticket via the BWW, making a Help Desk call, or talking with your TST.  If the screen cracks or breaks, you can get it repaired, but this is not an Apple-approved repair so it will void the warranty.  In our experience, any problems tend to show up in the first couple of weeks, so if it breaks, don’t let this deter you from fixing it.

If your screen breaks, you follow the same process, have your TST create a Heat Ticket for it.  The iPad will be sent to the Hardware Department and evaluated, and if it can be repaired, our hardware technicians will do it  once the school gives budget approval.  The school will be billed for the repair, currently around $50-60 (if you get it done at an Apple Authorized service location, the cost to a consumer will be over $200).



Cases

There are many options for protective cases from those found at the dollar store to some that are up to military specs for close to $100.  Our Board is currently investigating some options that are somewhere in the mid-range of those for cost, while still protecting the device well.  These choices will be posted on this page when that information becomes available.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to cases. A tough, more expensive case protects it from damage when it gets dropped. A cheaper case that provides a bit of grip stops it from dropping in the first place.  Another option is to combine these properties in one case, which generally means you are spending about $40 to provide some degree of prevention and protection.