Leasing new iPad minis using DEP and Meraki

Last term we had 100 iPads come off lease and we replaced them with 150 iPad minis.  I posted about the decision to switch to minis here.  Things did not go as smoothly as they could have so here's a few tips if you're about to do something similar:

• If devices are coming off lease, make sure you give yourself enough time to choose what you are replacing them with and to get the finances signed off.
• Give teachers enough time to get all their photos/videos off their current devices.
• If you are wiping your leased iPads to return them or sell them DO NOT USE MERAKI!!!!! Within Meraki's client screen there is an "erase device" button but this does not work properly if you are using "Find my iPad".  It looks like it has erased the device but it won't let you set it up as new.  Instead it demands the Apple ID password for the device.  We sold 40 of our 100 iPads to staff, and fortunately gave out about ten early because those staff came back and told us about the problem.  We then had to set up all 100 iPads again, read the tiny serial numbers at the back of the iPad so we could work out which password went with which device, log on to iCloud, turn off 'Find my iPad' and then log out again.  We were on a tight deadline to return the devices and this added hours to the process.
• Make sure your supplier adds your new devices' serial numbers to DEP asap as they can take 24 hours to appear (in our case we had a hiccup that delayed deployment by a week.  This is the email you don't want to receive "The DEP transaction is suspended with Apple right now as there was an issue with it. It has needed to be pushed through manually at Apple’s end".  I never really found out what the "issue" was, only that the head of Apple NZ got involved and then it went up the chain in the U.S. too.  I'm hoping that this was just teething issues, as we were the first of our supplier's clients to use DEP).

Once our iPads finally appeared on DEP it was very simple to set up the devices wirelessly and a nice improvement over Configurator.  The only drawback is that we can no longer assign a name to the lock screen, instead I've advised teachers to add different wallpapers to each of their devices.  We also had to manually add the name of the device after set-up.

I've always found Meraki fiddly when installing a lot of apps on a device.  Our senior school's devices have 49 apps on them and they didn't all go through immediately.  However we seem to have got off lightly because the last 16 devices had certain apps that would not go through at all.  They were stuck 'waiting' or loading and it was very frustrating.  I ended up taking them home as our IT guru seems to think the problem lies with our connection with N4L (he's doing some techie things to sort that out).  The apps did load up fine at home but it wasn't what I had planned for my evenings!

So that was what I got up to in the latter part of Term 2.  Fortunately I had an assistant to help with the fiddly app-loading process.  We also leased 24 new Apple TVs so they needed to be swapped over as well.  While I was installing them I took the opportunity to enable restrictions so that I could hide the movies from the main menu.  This removes the cringe factor of seeing "Sex Tape" or "50 Shades of Grey" advertised!

Term 3 sees us introduce optional BYOD (iPads) to our Year 5 & 6 students.  I'm sure this will be a learning process as well but I am keen to get started.

iPads - E-Learning Staff Meeting

Yesterday we held an e-learning staff meeting and went over some feedback that had been solicited from staff about how they were going with their iPads.  It has been ten weeks now since they were deployed.  There was a lot of very positive feedback and a few queries that were dealt with at the meeting.

Brian, our principal, showed everyone how to find eTAP, our student management system, on Safari and then save it onto their home screen.  He then made everyone's day by handing out $20 iTunes cards.

Several teachers had asked for more help sessions so we will run three more of these this term.  A good suggestion from the iPad feedback was to create a Google Doc for sharing ideas about what apps are working and what teachers are doing with them.  Andrea, our head of e-learning, has set this up and we spent a bit of time adding to it.

Andrea and I wanted to share a practical example of how to use some apps so we recreated a session we attended at the Mobile Devices in Classrooms conference earlier this year.  We asked the teachers to draw three scenes from a fairy tale and connect them to show a story. The apps we used were "Draw Free for iPad" and "Popplet Lite".  Here is the instruction sheet (although I couldn't add the pictures on the day as my mail wasn't working from my iPad so this is the better version).

The session went well.  The teachers did things like use the stickers and change the background in Draw Free, which we hadn't mentioned because we wanted to keep it simple.  Drawing three scenes was probably a bit ambitious due to the time constraints but it was good to see everyone having a go.

To finish the exercise Andrea asked everyone to get together in groups and come up with ideas about how the apps could be used in the classroom.  There was a great range from P.E. to Maori and everything in between.  Hopefully we will see some examples coming through on the shared Google Doc.

iPad Deployment - Week Two

  by  flickingerbrad 

Our I.T. guy, Richard, has fixed our wi-fi network issues so we now don’t have to log back in with username and password after the iPads go to sleep.  Yay!

Drop-in iPad Meeting

We had another successful drop-in iPad meeting.  Four teachers turned up and they were a mixture of those who needed further help with the basics and those who had sped ahead and were asking difficult questions!  Either way I was really happy they chose to come.  Things we covered were:

• Putting files into folders
• Setting the orientation lock
• Changing wi-fi settings (the fix to our log-on issues)
• How to do updates
• Finding apps in the App Store

All of these things were on our FAQ document but I know some people find the personal touch better.

I also showed one of the teachers the Show Me app and later emailed her this blog post from Jacqui Sharp which demonstrates what teachers can do with it.

The question of email came up.  We haven’t set up a class email for the iPads.  One idea was that teachers download the Google Search app and log in and out of their accounts when needed.  This could be cumbersome, I guess it depends on how often they will need to email.  Also, I have had issues with not being able to use Google Search to email the Book Creator app and I wonder if there may be problems with other apps too.  I see that you can hide your iPad mail account so this may be another way to handle mail.  I think the safest and easiest way may be to set up class emails.

Volume Purchase Program

I found out via twitter this week that the Volume Purchase Program is ‘coming soon’ to New Zealand.  I’m not sure what this will mean for us but in the meantime I guess we just have to keep going as we are.

Things We Need to Work On

• We haven’t worked out why the videos we take won’t play on Apple TV.  I tried them out at home, and they worked fine, so the problem appears to be tied up with the network.
• Can we access files on our network?  Some of the teachers at our drop-in meeting asked if they could access particular items from our network.  I am a fan of the Virtual Learning Network and have found a reference to the Files Connect app here, which sounds like it might fit the bill.  Another thing to bring up with Richard.
• What is the best way to transfer photos?  Our head of e-learning and I tried the Bump app and I know that there is also a Photo Transfer app, Files Connect, emailing and Photo Stream.  I guess the only way to know is try a few and see if they meet our needs.
• Richard is working on being able to print from the iPads and hopefully this will be in place soon.  He is using a program called Paper Cut.

I feel like my lack of knowledge was highlighted this week (in my defence I'm not an I.T. person, I'm a librarian who simply volunteered to help).  I’ve had an iPad since November but a lot of the things I need to know now are related to managing multiple iPads.  Richard comes in for four hours on Mondays so I have a barrage of questions for him and will keep on learning.  I am finding the new challenges exciting.

Our Deployment of 90 iPads

  by  Barrett.Discovery 

Preparation

I was involved with the technical support side of the deployment.  With advice from our principal I came up with a set of instructions for the teachers to follow to set up the iPads and add some restrictions.  I tested them on someone completely new to iPads and realised I needed to add a picture of the iPad to show where the buttons are, after all their position changes depending on how you pick it up.  I also added images of the Settings and App Store icons so they could easily be found.

iPad Party!

On Tuesday we had an iPad party for all of our teachers.  Our principal, a very enthusiastic iPad user, talked about why we were using iPads (engaging for our children, clear links to learning, flexible, portable, personalised and fun).

Each teacher (and me in the library) was given four iPads, an Apple TV and a $50 iTunes gift card.

We asked the teachers to bring their laptops to the iPad party so that they could verify their Apple IDs.  They set up all four iPads before loading any apps.  This was so they could download apps to one iPad and have them automatically download to the other three iPads (do this by going to Settings, Store, and swiping apps on).  There is a bit of a lag when this happens but it was successful.  It avoided the necessity of having to sync to iTunes, making the set up simpler. 

I know there is a lot of discussion about schools syncing multiple devices to one Apple ID.  We took comfort in this email posted by a NZ educator who confirmed the situation with an iTunes employee.

Challenges with the Set Up

There were a few hiccups – existing Apple IDs with forgotten passwords and incorrectly redeemed iTunes gift cards were the main problems.  It is disappointing that if you redeem the gift cards incorrectly it doesn't give an error message, instead it tries to get payment information from you when you want to purchase an app.  The key is to watch for a message advising the amount of money you have just added to your account, then you know you have done the process properly.

Extra Help

We held drop in sessions for the following two afternoons and will have one more this Wednesday.  Teachers were encouraged to take the iPads home to have a play and a substantial number of them were using the iPads the following day.  There was a positive buzz in the staffroom as teachers swapped notes.  This weekend some of the teacher aides have taken iPads home to have a look too.

We have created a frequently-asked questions Google doc where teachers can share iPad tips and have their questions answered.  Currently this has information on updating apps and software, app selection sites and keyboard tips.

Teacher Responsibilites

Each teacher is responsible for charging and looking after their iPads.  There is no centralised computer that they need to sync with.

Benefits of School-Wide Deployment

In my opinion the choice to deploy across the whole school at once was a good one.  Obviously we had the finances to be able to do so but what it has meant is that there are lots of ideas and discussions happening and everyone can join in.  The teachers are learning and supporting each other.  The allocation of individual iTunes gift cards means teachers have control over the apps on their iPads.  A list of suggested apps was given but the remainder of money is up to the teachers to spend.

I went to an iPad conference recently and watched as two teachers struggled to download a suggested app because they didn’t have the appropriate password.  This was very frustrating and demoralising for them and I’m glad we have avoided that.

Community Involvement

Back in early May we advised parents via newsletter that iPads would be coming to the classroom.  Another newsletter put out on Thursday talked about the iPad party and the introduction of iPads into classrooms. It also mentioned a deal that has been arranged with Noel Leeming for families who wish to use the same technology at home.  The apps that were selected were put on the school website for parents to see.  An expo that is planned for later this year was also described as a way to see the iPads in action.

Apple TVs

I’ve been busy setting up the Apple TVs and showing teachers how to use AirPlay (fortunately all the TVs bar one have HDMI slots).  The teachers are really happy that they can mirror their iPad to their TV without having to set up any cables like they do for their PCs.  This will be a great way for them to share book apps and also to explain to their class how to use particular apps.

Technical Issues

We had a wireless upgrade before the iPads were introduced.  The biggest problem is that the Wi-Fi network that was set up requires you to log back in every time the iPads go to sleep.  We have passed this on to our I.T. guru and hope to get it fixed soon.  We also want him to find out why the videos we record do not play on Apple TV.

Some issues we have managed to fix for ourselves:

• AirPlay button is missing – this happens when the Wi-Fi isn’t connected
• Some apps are greyed out so you can’t purchase them – this is because of the restrictions we set up.  The apps must have some content that is not suitable for children.

Overall I would say that it has been an excellent first week with the iPads.  I will keep you informed as we move forward.