Putting+the+apps+onto+the+iPad+class+set

The question then becomes how do you find the right apps for your class? This can be an interesting process as one tries to navigate through the sea of apps in the Apple Store. Navigating the App Store can be both very beneficial while also being very frustrating. When simply browsing for various apps on a topic, perusing through the App Store is the best resource to use. Apple has done a nice job of categorizing the apps in the store, but finding a specific app can prove problematic at times. One of the easiest ways I have discovered new apps is by simply using Google. By searching for a topic and placing “app” after it (i.e. “stone age app”) the odds are if an app exists for it, the search will find it and allow you to open it in the iTunes store.

Once the apps are purchased it now comes time to put the apps onto the classroom set. The iPad cart has the fantastic capability of allowing all the iPads plugged into the cart to be connected via the USB cable on the top of the cart. There are three ways to then sync apps onto the iPads, the first involves the use of the cable and the second is through the wireless syncing capability that came about with iOS 5, and the third is through the Apple Configurator. I have used all three and when setting up and adding apps to the cart the Configurator is fantastic. It allows up to thirty devices to be synced in the exact same way leaving no doubt the apps you want on the iPad get there. The USB cable works really well when the cart has its own Macbook and only one or two apps need to be put on at a time. Although the wireless syncing would seem to be the easiest option, it is unreliable when attempting to sync a large number of iPads and eats up a large portion of bandwidth