TechChef » managing student iPads

26 Nov 2012
Comments: 4

iPad Tips 4 Parents

Most of the time I focus on integration tips and examples for teachers. Today, I decided to change the pace and share some management tips for the device at home. With a 1:1 iPad initiative in full swing, setting boundaries with the iPad at home can become an issue. To support our Eanes parents, we developed a Digital Learning Parent seminar series.

Wifi Password Fridge created with Word Mover iPad app

5 iPad tips for Parents: One of the resources created for this series was 5 iPad Tips for parents created by our very own Tim Yenca (aka @mryenca). The resource thoroughly covers:

Vigilance: suggests homework be completed in a common area and iPad stored and charged in a common area (say goodnight to your iPad)
Accountability: shares how to manage the multi-tasking bar (great video example)
Notifications: discusses how to turn off notifications to manage distractions (Do Not Disturb info)
Guided Access: restricts students to one app (more info here)
Restrictions: restrict access to age-appropriate content and apps (NB has great info on their student device restrictions’ settings).

iPad Tips 4 Parents Comic Poster: Inspired by some of the Comic Life tutorials, I decided to create a comic strip version of this info to share with parents. (Also check out Greg Garner’s “Top 10 iPad Management Tips and Tricks”).

iPad Tips 4 Parents

iPad Tips 4 Parents by Lisa Johnson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://whs.eanesisd.net/wifi/wifiparents.

550+ iPad Lessons Pinned HERE!

Did you know TechChef4u had a FB page?

Contact TechChef4u: lisa.johnson@techchef4u.com

11 Feb 2012
Comments: 0

Lessons Learned from iPad & iPod for Secondary: TCEA 2012

One of the sessions I was able to attend this week other than the iPlayground(s) was “iPad & iPod for Secondary“.

SlideRocket: http://bit.ly/uOvX12

Road Blocks to an iPad 1:1: They began with the above Xtranormal which was a great ice-breaker and good platform to get everyone thinking about managing road blocks and criticisms of integrating the iPad into the classroom.

The full presentation is up in Sliderocket (including videos).

iPad and iPod Touches in the Secondary Classroom

Learner-Centered: Teachers filled out an application to be part of the pilot and integrated the flipped classroom model which morphs the environment from teacher-centered to learner-centered. To support this model, teachers created a calendar on their website that housed the videos and handouts and study guides. If students did not have access to internet at home, teachers could provide the resources on a flash drive as well.
iClassroom Management: The iPads were provided for each student to use while they were at school (they did not leave campus) and all teachers had the password to the iTunes account. The only paid apps resident on the devices were Pages, Keynote, Numbers, and iMovie. Each classroom also had 3 MacBook Pros for student use and 1 Mac for teacher use and to be utilized to purchase further apps for the classroom. A 10 Port Hub was also purchased to make the syncing process quicker. Other relevant tidbits were the access of Facebook and YouTube to all students (this was addressed in their updated AUP) and a Digital Cafe in Edmodo.
The session also shared a few of their favorite apps: Join.Me (screen sharing and collaboration: must install desktop software), Evernote, ScreenChomp, Science 360, Jot! Whiteboard, Side by Side, PDF Notes, Sundry Notes, CloudOn, ShowMe, Popplet Lite, Toontastic, and Word Jewels.

Visit these links for more apps for secondary (Science, Math, ELAR, History) and appy integration for all content areas and grade levels.

30 Sep 2011
Comments: 2

Setting Student Restrictions on an iDevice

It is vital for teachers and iDevice administrators to set up restrictions in the device prior to putting them in the hands of students. If restrictions are not initiated, students can set up their own code for the restrictions and/or will have access to multiple questionable opportunities. When you set up restrictions, use a four-digit code that can be standardized (e.g. the four digit year the campus opened) but not easily guessed (e.g. 1234 or 0000).

Here are a few suggestions for default restrictions:

Enable Student Restrictions

YouTube: Many times this is blocked already by the proxy.
iTunes: This will block the music on the device. It will also turn off of Ping, a social network for music, automatically.
Turn off Allow Installing & Deleting Apps: This will block students signing into their own iTunes account and restrict them from deleting existed apps teachers have synced to the device.
Accounts: Set this option to “Don’t Allow Changes” so students cannot edit or delete existing accounts (e.g. default student email for sending projects to teachers and the MobileMe account).
Turn off in-app purchase: This will block pop-ups carrying you to the app store to purchase additional features within an app.
Adjust content age limits as appropriate. Consider the following settings:

Music & Podcasts: Clean
Movies: PG
TV Shows: PG
Apps: 12+

Turn off multi-player games: This applies to games in the game center.
Turn off adding friends: This also applies to games in the game center.

Teaching teachers to regulate these restrictions is an integral piece in managing these iDevices in the classroom.

Also check out “3 Ways to Manage Student iPads in the Classroom.”

22 Sep 2011
Comments: 0

3 Ways to Manage Student iPads in the Classroom

As the tidal wave of iDevices hit the shores this fall, I felt it was a good time to highlight a few ways to manage these devices with students.

Add a Custom Email Signature: If you have email set up (we have a generic student email on each device that allows outgoing emails and restricts incoming) on the device to submit student work, consider adding a custom signature to your iDevice to discourage/manage rogue emails and inappropriate student use. Giving each device a different traceable signature will make it easier to locate the device that sent an inappropriate email. It is advised that each student uses the same iPad each class (e.g. Johnny is assigned iPad 4 for English Class 3rd period and Janie is assigned iPad 4 for English Class 4th period) to further streamline this process.

Settings
Mail, Contacts, Calendars
Signature
“Sent from Johnson Middle School: tag#****”

Set up MobileMe on your devices to locate and manage stolen or missing iDevices:

Settings
Mail, Contacts, Calendar
Add Account
MobileMe
Enter Apple ID and password
Next to Verify
OK to allow MobileMe to use the Location
Save
Login to me.com on your computer with the Apple ID and password to track devices
From Me.com, you can Display a Message or Play Sound on the missing device (sound will play when device is on or turned back on) as well as Lock or Wipe it.

Add Numbered Backgrounds to your iDevices (find full setup info for iDevices here) to minimize inappropriate student customization and make checking in/out of iDevices smoother:

Launch Safari on the device
Visit http://bit.ly/pgipadwp (you only need to type in bit.ly/pgipadwp
Select the wallpaper you want for that device (you can choose green backgrounds with yellow or blue text and numbers 1-30)
Tap and hold a couple of seconds to save the image
Launch Photo App (sunflower icon)
Select the image you chose in step 3&4
Hit the arrow
Select as Wallpaper
Set it as both lock screen and home screen