A couple of weeks ago we had our first "casualty" of the iPod Touch pilot program. A student's iPod had it's screen cracked. From memory, the student was unsure of how this happened.
After much to-ing and fro-ing, it was decided that the College would pay for the repair of this iPod. As it happens, the repair is more expensive than a replacement iPod...so we're purchasing a replacement instead. I can't say that I am happy with the fact that the College is picking up the tab. After all the trouble we went to, to explain to the students about being responsible for their iPods, I think that this damage was caused by the student being negligent...ie, they didn't know where their iPod was, and therefore they failed to ensure its safety.
In my opinion, this creates a bad precedent...once word gets around I can imagine parents complaining "why do I have to pay for this broken iPod, when <<this other student>> didn't have to pay for theirs" - totally unacceptable. Fingers crossed that this doesn't happen...but I have my concerns.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Rollout for staff
Over the past few days, we have begun rolling out iPods to teaching staff. Despite a few requests to the "people that matter", I got no recommendations as to which staff should be given the iPods. So, I made my best guess, and began distribution.
Since starting the rollout for staff, several staff have asked "what do I do with it?" type questions. Therefore, I have asked our Head of eLearning to devise a training course to get staff up and running....covering such topics as connecting to your iPod to your laptop, synching Calendars, email, bookmarks, etc...and using the App Store. We'll see how this idea progresses.
Our staff have a slightly different iPod setup to our students...they connect to our "Staff" wireless network, meaning that they can access the Internet without going through our web proxy. I assume that staff will be a little more responsible than students in their Internet usage.
Since starting the rollout for staff, several staff have asked "what do I do with it?" type questions. Therefore, I have asked our Head of eLearning to devise a training course to get staff up and running....covering such topics as connecting to your iPod to your laptop, synching Calendars, email, bookmarks, etc...and using the App Store. We'll see how this idea progresses.
Our staff have a slightly different iPod setup to our students...they connect to our "Staff" wireless network, meaning that they can access the Internet without going through our web proxy. I assume that staff will be a little more responsible than students in their Internet usage.
OK, so it's not possible
...to create an App Store account, using an iPod Touch, without giving credit card information.
Well, not quite...it turns out that it IS possible to do this...but only if you have an iTunes Gift Card. Now, I don't have the budget to purchase 27x $20 gift cards...so this option is ruled out at the moment. This is definitely something that we need to work on in preparation for 2011.
In the end, it took about 8 emails back and forth to Apple, and an "escalation" to a higher-level employee before I finally got my question answered.
Not that it helps....but at least I know now.
Well, not quite...it turns out that it IS possible to do this...but only if you have an iTunes Gift Card. Now, I don't have the budget to purchase 27x $20 gift cards...so this option is ruled out at the moment. This is definitely something that we need to work on in preparation for 2011.
In the end, it took about 8 emails back and forth to Apple, and an "escalation" to a higher-level employee before I finally got my question answered.
Not that it helps....but at least I know now.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Seriously Apple, how bad can your people be?
I have just received an email from the iTunes Store support people. Before I get into the response, let me recap...I would like our students to create their own App Store accounts using their iPods, as I'm sure that not all of them will have a computer to set them up with. Furthermore, because they're only 12 or 13 years old, they will not have credit cards. Therefore, my original support request to iTunes Store support went like this:
If a person can read / understand English, I didn't think this was too difficult a question to ask. That was until I got the following reply:
Whilst those (basic) instructions will work OK if you have a credit card, they won't work in my case. So, I have quickly reminded the iTunes people about the need for NO credit card info...let's see what answers they can come up with next!
Our College have given 27 iPod Touches to year 7 students. We cannot guarantee that these students have access to computers to be able to create their own iTunes store accounts.
Therefore, is it possible to create an iTunes store account (using the iPod Touch) without entering credit card information? The Knowledge Base articles I have found so far only give instructions for creating accounts without credit card information when using iTunes on a computer...a solution that I am not able to implement.
If a person can read / understand English, I didn't think this was too difficult a question to ask. That was until I got the following reply:
Anyway, I have looked up a few things and have found that these students should be able to by following these directions:
1) Choose General>
2) App Store>
3) Create new account.
I hope this helps everyone get in
Whilst those (basic) instructions will work OK if you have a credit card, they won't work in my case. So, I have quickly reminded the iTunes people about the need for NO credit card info...let's see what answers they can come up with next!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Getting access to the App Store
I figure that these iPods aren't going to be much use if students can't download applications for them. We have a couple of applications in mind already...such as "Studywiz Mobile eLocker".
Given that a) our lab computers don't allow students to update iPods, and b) I couldn't guarantee that every student has access to an Internet-capable computer at home, I had to find a way of allowing access to the App Store from the iPods.
The easy way was to ask Apple's iTunes Store support people for the IP address / domain name of the iTunes Store servers. But, of course, it wasn't that easy...the support people didn't seem to have a clue what I was talking about - they told me to get my ISP to turn off the blocking!
My next option was to try and find the information myself, by monitoring the proxy logs whilst trying to connect one of the iPods. An hour or so later, and about 6 "direct access" entries in the proxy config, it appears that the proxy is no longer a barrier to the App Store.
However, I still have 1 problem. When I try and create an App Store account using the iPod, I am required to enter credit card information. This is not good, as our year 7s don't have credit cards, and I don't really want them accessing paid applications anyway. Apple have described a workaround for this if you're using iTunes on a computer, but unfortunately I don't have that option.
I have asked the support people (again!) if there is a fix for this, that will allow me to create store accounts (using the iPods) without entering credit card details. If they aren't forthcoming with an answer, it looks like I'll have to create 27 student accounts using my laptop, and forwarding the information to the students by email.
I have a tentative date of next Friday (12th March) to have App Store access working for students - fingers crossed!
Given that a) our lab computers don't allow students to update iPods, and b) I couldn't guarantee that every student has access to an Internet-capable computer at home, I had to find a way of allowing access to the App Store from the iPods.
The easy way was to ask Apple's iTunes Store support people for the IP address / domain name of the iTunes Store servers. But, of course, it wasn't that easy...the support people didn't seem to have a clue what I was talking about - they told me to get my ISP to turn off the blocking!
My next option was to try and find the information myself, by monitoring the proxy logs whilst trying to connect one of the iPods. An hour or so later, and about 6 "direct access" entries in the proxy config, it appears that the proxy is no longer a barrier to the App Store.
However, I still have 1 problem. When I try and create an App Store account using the iPod, I am required to enter credit card information. This is not good, as our year 7s don't have credit cards, and I don't really want them accessing paid applications anyway. Apple have described a workaround for this if you're using iTunes on a computer, but unfortunately I don't have that option.
I have asked the support people (again!) if there is a fix for this, that will allow me to create store accounts (using the iPods) without entering credit card details. If they aren't forthcoming with an answer, it looks like I'll have to create 27 student accounts using my laptop, and forwarding the information to the students by email.
I have a tentative date of next Friday (12th March) to have App Store access working for students - fingers crossed!
The Rollout begins
This week, we gave our students their iPod Touches. First order of business (for me, anyway) was to get them all connecting to the wireless network.
I had done some preparation beforehand:
1) I configured our RADIUS server to allow all students in the class to connect to the RADIUS service - which is required for the wireless network they'll be connected to.
2) I configured our wireless LAN controllers to allow the MAC addresses of the iPods to access our "privately-owned computer" network.
I figure that it was best to connect these iPods to the "privately-owned" wireless LAN (despite the fact that they are owned by the College). Considering in 2011 all iPods will be privately-owned, the solutions we devise now will continue to work next year.
Now, it was time to step the students through the initial network setup (with the help of a data projector and big screen). A major part of configuring the iPods was the setup of the "proxy auto config" file (.pac file). Despite stressing to students the importance of getting the URL exactly right, about 1/3 of them had trouble with this configuration. However, 10 mins after class, and a couple of help-desk calls at lunchtime seems to have ironed out these glitches, and (as far as I know) all students can surf the Internet using their iPods on campus.
So, 1 lesson into the trial, and we have 27 iPods on the Internet. Next step is to get them access to the App Store (which is currently blocked by our web proxy).
I had done some preparation beforehand:
1) I configured our RADIUS server to allow all students in the class to connect to the RADIUS service - which is required for the wireless network they'll be connected to.
2) I configured our wireless LAN controllers to allow the MAC addresses of the iPods to access our "privately-owned computer" network.
I figure that it was best to connect these iPods to the "privately-owned" wireless LAN (despite the fact that they are owned by the College). Considering in 2011 all iPods will be privately-owned, the solutions we devise now will continue to work next year.
Now, it was time to step the students through the initial network setup (with the help of a data projector and big screen). A major part of configuring the iPods was the setup of the "proxy auto config" file (.pac file). Despite stressing to students the importance of getting the URL exactly right, about 1/3 of them had trouble with this configuration. However, 10 mins after class, and a couple of help-desk calls at lunchtime seems to have ironed out these glitches, and (as far as I know) all students can surf the Internet using their iPods on campus.
So, 1 lesson into the trial, and we have 27 iPods on the Internet. Next step is to get them access to the App Store (which is currently blocked by our web proxy).
The iPod Touch Pilot Program
The ICT Oversight Committee has decided that beginning in 2011, all year 7 and 8 students will be required to purchase an iPod Touch, and to use it to connect to our wireless LAN. Once connected, they should be able to access our Learning Management System (Studywiz) and the Internet, as well as other applications deemed useful in their learning.
Prior to this project going ahead, it was deemed that there would be 2 different "pilot" projects. The first is to issue 30 staff members with iPod Touches, so that they can research appropriate applications and usage of the iPods.
The second pilot, and the inspiration for this blog, is for a class of 27 year 7 students (along with 8 of their teachers) to be given iPod Touches. This is so that they too can research applications and usage. However, my own opinion is that this pilot is far more interesting, since it involves the students (and the associated challenges from a tech support point-of-view).
In this blog I aim to record my experiences in providing technical support to the "7H iPod Touch Pilot Project". The experience gained during this pilot will determine how successful the implemenetation is in 2011.
Prior to this project going ahead, it was deemed that there would be 2 different "pilot" projects. The first is to issue 30 staff members with iPod Touches, so that they can research appropriate applications and usage of the iPods.
The second pilot, and the inspiration for this blog, is for a class of 27 year 7 students (along with 8 of their teachers) to be given iPod Touches. This is so that they too can research applications and usage. However, my own opinion is that this pilot is far more interesting, since it involves the students (and the associated challenges from a tech support point-of-view).
In this blog I aim to record my experiences in providing technical support to the "7H iPod Touch Pilot Project". The experience gained during this pilot will determine how successful the implemenetation is in 2011.
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