Trials+and+tribulations

An iPad cart is one of the most amazing tools a teacher can have in his or her classroom today. Of course, being one of the first teachers in the district to have this opportunity also brings a new learning curve and multiple issues that develop along the way. I would like to share with you what I have found to be the best way to go about setting up a new iPad cart.

At first glance the cart itself is very impressive, housing thirty iPads in individual slots each with its own charging cable that is plugged into a master board in the depths of the cart. The master board in the back is then connected to one USB cable that comes out through an opening in the top of the cart. This USB cable will be the life blood for everything you want to do with the iPads, and connects all thirty iPads to your computer at the same time. One of the first issues that must be considered when setting up an iPad cart is the computer you will be using with it.

Unless you have the cart directly next to your desk, a laptop is extremely beneficial. A laptop allows you the flexibility to keep the cart in any area of the room. When setting up our first two carts at our school we encountered an unforeseen issue. I was given a MacBook to go along with my cart, while the other teacher was given a PC laptop. We discovered that the processing power of the PC was not enough to handle the cart and the thirty devices at one time. The MacBook, however, was able to load all thirty devices in a reasonable amount of time. The conclusion to this problem is that a MacBook is the best option when looking for a computer to pair with the new cart. The reduced stress and hassle will be well worth the extra cost.

After we knew the appropriate computer to use, it was time to set up the iPads for class use. This was possibly the most stressful and time consuming part of the process, as I had no guidance and only the instructions that came along with the cart. All thirty iPads must be connected to the computer that will be syncing the apps prior to plugging them into the cart. This is just a typical iPad set up that is very easy to follow, but the trick is to set up the first iPad the way you want it and then set up the rest of the iPads as a “restore from backup” of the first iPad. This will save time and allow you to focus on other maters concerning the new cart.

The next step will be to adjust the settings on the iPad to the situation that you are most comfortable with. There are a couple of issues that one must be aware of when setting up the iPads. With the introduction of iOS 5, sharing information on the iCloud has never been easier, but this also means that if some features are not shut off on the class set of iPads, all of the information on the teacher’s iPad will be transferred to the class set including everything from reminders to contacts. I found this out the hard way as I was reminded by not just my iPad to pick up my water bottle from the weight room, but also the entire class as they picked up their iPads from the back of the room. What an eye opener that was! This is a very easy process to eliminate, as all that must be done is to open the settings –iCloud – and turn off everything you do not want to share with the class set. When this is done, it is important to make sure that “Find my iPad” is taken advantage of. This is an extremely useful feature that will essentially eliminate any threat of someone walking out of the classroom with an iPad.

The last setting that will be beneficial to a new class set will be setting up an email account for all the iPads. What I have found to work this year is to set up a mock Gmail account for all of the iPads. With this feature students are able to complete some work in project apps and submit it to me via email. After these steps have been completed, the iPads will be ready to add apps.

The iPads are unquestionably a fantastic educational resource; however, if the appropriate network does not support them they can render more frustration than functionality. A strong wireless connection is absolutely necessary, and the extra money that a stronger router may cost will be well worth it. One unforeseen problem that we encountered while setting up our network involved cross frequencies from outside wireless networks. Specifically what was happening involved a neighbor’s wireless router using the same signal our cheaper routers were using. By purchasing a router that essentially polices the signals in the area and finds the one with the least interference to use, we have eliminated 99% of connectivity issues with the iPads.

Once a strong network has been set up, the next step is to ensure that the content filter the school uses is compatible with the iPads. It must be tested as some apps will not open with the filter on. Another issue involves not being able to watch videos that are imbedded in the apps because of settings with the filter. To figure these situations out, a lot of communication between the tech department and the company in charge of the school’s content filter is needed. As a school we are still in the process of setting our filter to 100% capability with the iPads, but had we known these problems would have existed prior to our implementation, time and energy would have been saved.