Innovating with iPods - How to Lose a Day of Your Life - Part 2

April 2010

Continued from Part 1

We now needed to begin setting up the iTunes accounts on the MacBooks so that we could start to download content to the iPods.

Setting up iTunes

If you are using a Windows PC and do not have iTunes installed then your first step is to install it! The current UK version can be found here in the form of a free download: iTunes UK

It takes a fair few minutes to install but it will become a very important piece of software. At the time of writing, the current version of iTunes (on Mac OS anyway) is 9.2.1, but at the time of our setup it was the previous version that we installed.

Once iTunes installs you will need to create an account to download apps and other content to use on the iPods.

Top Tip: If you already have an iTunes account which you use personally or with another set of devices, do not use this account to setup a class set of iPods. Make sure you set up a totally separate account for this purpose to avoid issues with syncing content later.

Top Trick for using GMail

We have created separate iTunes accounts for each of the three classes taking part in the project so that different content can be added to each class setup if required. Each account needs to be registered with a different email address. However, as I am managing our school's project, I wanted all of the emails to come to me without having to set up three different email accounts. I already had a GMail account that I use for work things and was taught a superb trick by Tim Bleazard of Challenge CLC that works with all Google Mail accounts. This is how it works:

You can actually have an unlimited (I think) number of email addresses with GMail, all linked to the same account by simply adding the plus sign and some additional text at the end of an email address, before the '@' sign. These addresses are all 'unique' in that they can be used to sign up for the same service using multiple identities (such as iTunes). All emails sent to these addresses will then automatically appear in your regular GMail inbox. For instance, to sign up three class iTunes accounts to link to your GMail account:

firstname.lastname@gmail.com is the original email address, as an example.

So set up one iTunes account with the email address:

firstname.lastname+class1@gmail.com

Set up the second account with the email address:

firstname.lastname+class2@gmail.com

And the third class account with the email address:

firstname.lastname+class3@gmail.com

If you receive any emails to the +text addresses, it will appear in your regular GMail inbox as normal. A really cool and useful trick! Test it out - it really works!

**Super Top Tip** - Purchasing Content

One of the big issues we faced was exactly HOW we would purchase content through iTunes. I knew that you could register credit or debit cards but this still did not solve the problem. As you can imagine, the school Business Manager would be very reluctant for me to sign up to iTunes with the school credit card as I would effectively have open access to purchase as much content as I wanted, totally unregulated! Quite rightly, access to the school credit card should remain for a very small group of the staff.

The other way I could get round the issue was to set iTunes up using one of my own debit cards. This would mean that I would have to continuously claim money back from school (which we all know can be a time consuming process) and would mean that if other teachers were to have access to the iTunes account, they would effectively have free reign to spend money in the iTunes Store, straight from my bank account.

Hmmm...

And then I found the answer! iTunes vouchers! It seemed so obvious. We bought three £25 iTunes gift cards from WHSmith with the intention of loading them onto our accounts. Brilliant!

So I went back to set up my new iTunes accounts and load the vouchers. And then I found out that you HAVE TO sign up using a credit or debit card. Except, you don't...

They don't necessarily make this information obvious, but it is possible to sign up for iTunes accounts without a credit or debit card. Rather than reinventing the wheel, I'll just point you in the direction of the Apple support page you need:

Create an iTunes App Store account without a credit card - Cool!

It is a really useful way of keeping everybody happy and keeping the setup as uncomplicated as possible.

Once you have created the accounts by following the steps above, downloading your first free app, you will need to load the iTunes gift vouchers in order to buy content. You can download as much free content as you like (but remember not to exceed the storage space of the device - ours is 8GB, for example).

So...

Adding iTunes Gift Vouchers

• Once you have signed up for an account and purchased your gift card, scratch off the panel on the reverse of the gift card to reveal a 16-digit alphanumeric code
• Make sure you are signed in (to do this, click on the 'iTunes Store' link on the left hand menu, then click 'Sign In' in top right corner of iTunes) and then choose the option in the top right menu which says 'Redeem'
• Enter the code on the card and hit 'Redeem' - and you're done!

You can now download content to your heart's content. The cost of apps, music, etc. will be automatically debited from the money in your account (which is always displayed next to your username when you're signed into iTunes).

Usefully, you will receive an email receipt for everything you purchase via iTunes. This can be helpful to keep tabs on what you've spent your money on, although frustratingly you can wait several days before receiving these receipts, although some are delivered immediately.

The next step is to create a 'baseline' setup of educational apps in iTunes. My next post will focus on the final part of the setup process that we undertook during the Easter Holidays.

Innovating with iPods - How to Lose a Day of Your Life - Part 1

April 2010


It was clear that the next step in the process of setting up 96 iPod Touches ready for three Year 5 classes would take us some time, and with time running out before our intended project launch with the pupils, James Langley and I decided to devote a day in the Easter holidays to complete the final setup process.

It was only as we arrived, eager to see a 'ready-to-go' project at the end of the day, that we realised how much work there was left to do, including (vaguely in order):

• Configuring the three Apple MacBooks
• Factory resetting the 20 or so iPods which had been setup for testing purposes at the local CLC
• Dividing the iPods into four groups: one group for each class plus a 'spares' pile
• Applying screen protectors to all of the iPods
• Attaching protective plastic cases to all of the iPods
• Creating up a 'baseline' setup in iTunes on each MacBook, with some free educational apps, as a starting point
• Configuring each class set of iPod Touches in iTunes for use with the respective class MacBook
• Syncing all of the iPods with the MacBook to copy across the initially selected apps to each device
• Entering wireless internet and proxy settings (see previous post) and testing the internet
• Taking down the iPod's individual number (as written on the back of the iPod) and its serial number

Clearly we had to get to work! This was how it happened.

Configuring a MacBook

I am going to spend very little time talking about this. Straight out of the box it's so easy to do. Plug it in, power it up and follow the on screen instructions. It'll ask you to name the computer, add a password to allow protection of certain features (this could be a good way to block certain 'administrative' features if the Macs are to be given to other less tech-savvy teachers) and confirm your current time zone.

Once this is done it is important to carry out a Software Update to ensure that all of the Mac's software is the latest available version (including iTunes). It is a very similar (although less clunky, in my opinion) process to Windows Updates.

To do this, click on the Apple logo in the top left corner of the screen and choose 'Software Update...'

When it's finished downloading, installing and restarting, you're ready to go.

Factory resetting an iPod

If you're starting totally from scratch, taking an iPod straight out of the box, you can miss out this step entirely. If you've previously set up one or more devices, it's important to carry factory reset the iPods. To do this, power on the device, tap Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.

When this screen appears, you're set for the next step:

We then grouped the iPods by the numbers we had assigned on the back, i.e. Class 5A would have iPods no. 1-30, etc. and put them into easy to distinguish piles to ensure that the rest of the setup was as  easy as possible.

Applying screen protectors and clip-on plastic covers


It may seem obvious, but it is important to apply the screen protector before clipping on the clear plastic case (if you have one).

Big thanks have to go out to James Langley for his work here. I very quickly lost patience with applying screen protectors and so James took on this unenviable role. I have to admit, it's pretty difficult to get it right. The biggest difficulty is applying the protectors without bubbles appearing under the surface. It can become very a irritating task. And when you are operating with the insane quantities that we were faced with, it's inevitably going to take a while.

I've since discovered an instructional video on YouTube which may have helped me immensely. Check it out before you give it a go yourself:

Top Tip: If you're still struggling to apply the screen protector without bubbles, try using a credit card to squeeze out the bubbles as you apply it to the iPod. Worked for me!


Once the screen protector has been applied, clip on the hard plastic case (a bit of brute force needed). The major downside to these cases is that there's no real way to take them off. They either stay on or they break off. A term into our project and we're starting to find a few of the cases coming loose. Chances are they'll come off soon, needing to be replaced.

This is no major issue for us at the moment. The cases did come free with the iPods in the first place, but replacing them could become expensive if it needs to be done termly. I would be interested to hear of more long lasting alternatives if anybody is aware of any.

That's all for now.

My next post will focus on the second half of the setup process as listed above. Keep checking back or subscribe for regular updates.

Innovating with iPods - Accessing the Internet

March 2010


After purchasing the basic equipment for our iPod Touch project, and working out how we would go about syncing content to the iPods, James Langley and I continued to battle away with research which would help answer some of our questions. We had meetings in person and via Skype at all hours to make sure we were getting it right.

We spent an afternoon researching some of the great educational apps that there were available. We were pleased to discover the huge wealth of free content available through Apple's App Store which would be really relevant to our project. The benefits to pupils' learning were just obvious. And even Michael Gove might be pleased. One of the first apps we found was perfect for learning times tables by rote, but as it was on an iPod Touch it seemed somewhat less Dickensian. (I will publish a full list of the apps we have used in a future post).

James and I met, alongside Tim Bleazard, ICT Teacher at Challenge CLC, throughout March to carry out some very important tests to answer the following questions relating to the use of the internet:

• How easy was it to enter the wireless and proxy settings?
• Could these settings be copied or synced between iPods or did they need to be entered manually each time?
• Did our school internet filtering detect the iPods and block the same web addresses as on the netbooks, laptops and desktops?
• Was there any content that would not be compatible with the iPods?

We found some great answers. And some not so great answers. Here they are.

Internet Settings

Entering web proxy and wireless settings is a piece of cake (although you may need to involve your technical support, if this is not you, to get some of the details you'll need).

The process: On the iPod Touch, open up Settings > Wi-Fi. You should be greeted with this screen:

Make sure that the Wi-Fi is turned on and after a second or two you should see a list of the available wireless networks.

Top Tip: If you have difficulty finding wireless networks which you are sure are available, there may be an issue with your iPod Touch's wireless card. To test this, first try simply heading back to the previous 'Settings' screen and re-selecting the 'Wi-Fi' option. Sometimes all it needs is a good kick up the backside. If this fails, try turning the iPod Touch off and then back on again (can you tell I work with ICT?). Finally, if you're still having trouble, try a hard reset of the device - details of which will be made available in a future post - and give it another go. If it's still not working, but others are, your wireless card is dead and the device needs replacing, which will be done under warranty.

Once the list of Wi-Fi networks is displayed on screen, enter the network's password (presuming that it has one). You should only need to do this once as the settings will save automatically. If your school accesses the internet through a proxy server, you will also need to enter these settings. To do this, tap the blue and white arrow next to your wireless network and scroll to the bottom of the next screen:

Enter the proxy settings and away you go. You'll probably want to test that it's working straight away by launching the iPod's inbuilt web browser, Safari, which looks like this:

Pretty easy, yes? And now for the bad news...

To my knowledge (and trust me I looked hard enough for the info) there is no way to synchronise an iPod's settings with a Windows PC or Mac, meaning that these settings need to be entered manually for each device. We bought 96 iPod Touches. 'Nuff said.

Access to internet content

As our school does access the internet through a proxy server, the iPods were also routed through this server. Therefore, all content which we block in school in line with our e-Safety Policy is inaccessible on  the iPods. This, obviously, was a relieving discovery.

The great thing about the iPod Touch is that you can access the whole of the internet in the palm of your hands. Except that that's a big fat lie. As Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been forced to explain his reasoning for many times, iPod Touches do not currently include, nor do Apple envisage any plans for them to include, support for Flash or any Flash-based website. The implications of this are at best irritating, at worst lesson-killers.

Top Tip: I know you all would anyway, but... Make sure you test websites you plan to use well in advance of using them in class. This is more important than ever due to the lack of support for Flash.

And that's it for now...

It may appear to make little sense for me to talk about the finer configuration of the devices before explaining the wider process of setting them up first, but I am simply explaining the chronological learning process I underwent during the initial stages of this project. My next post in the 'Innovating with iPods' series will focus on the full setup process.

Keep checking back for updates, or subscribe to be kept fully in the loop.

Innovating with iPods - The Basic Setup

February 2010


After James Langley and I had agreed the focus of the project, we had a whole world of unanswered questions. I had absolutely no idea where to start. You see, despite being reasonably competent with technology, I had never owned or even operated an Apple product in my life! I'd never used an Apple computer, an iPhone, iPod Touch or even the very first iPods which were just simple MP3 players. I'd never used any of it. It seemed I had a whole world of technology to understand before I could begin to proceed.

I borrowed an iPod Touch over the February half term to play around with and learn how to use it. It was only then that I realised the good news: iPod Touches are stupidly easy to operate. It took me about 15 minutes to grasp the concept and familiarise myself with the core features. That was it. No manual, user guides or difficulty. It just worked. (It is important to point out that this was a pre-configured iPod Touch. I will write details of the setup process for an iPod in a future post).

But I was still massively unsure of what to do next. I 'got' the idea of the iPods, but James and I still had no idea how to:

• store 96 iPods
• charge 96 iPods
• add content to 96 iPods
• extract content from 96 iPods
• use iTunes (the online Apple store for downloading content)
• share purchased content between devices (Could this be done? Did we need to buy content 96 times? Could we legally buy it once and then synchronise it across all 96?)
• keep personal content on the iPods without it syncing to the other iPods
• ensure that they were consistent with school's E-safety Policy

We put these questions on the back burner for a while until we could come up with solutions and decided instead to crack on with the things we knew we needed. After a brief discussion we decided to buy 8GB iPod Touches - we didn't believe we would need any more storage space than this, so we decided to press on with the purchase of these. And it made absolutely no sense whatsoever to do this alone.

Top Tip: When buying equipment for a project such as this, try and use the buying power of your local City Learning Centre to secure a better price. My thanks have to go to Challenge CLC for managing to secure a price of £118 per device, including hard plastic case and screen protector. They also produced labels which were applied to the back of the iPod:

The hard plastic case and screen protector (which you can't even tell has been applied)

The back of the iPod with label showing the school logo, address and the individual iPod number

After a bit of thinking, reading and with help from Tony Vincent's blog, we started to come up with some solutions to the questions we had earlier.

We learnt a lot more about charging and syncing. In order to charge and sync any number of iPods you need to install iTunes (free download) onto a Windows or Mac computer. This is the platform for transferring content to and from the devices.

Top Tip: I would highly recommend buying an Apple PC or MacBook for the purpose of syncing  content to the iPods. Although it is technically possible to use iTunes on a Windows PC, it is far slower and much more buggy, which means that syncing multiple iPods at the same time is hit-and-miss at best. Again, I appreciate that this kind of decision is dependant on budgets.

We purchased three Apple MacBooks (one per class taking part in the project) for £619 each. Again we purchased these through our local CLC.

James Langley found a great solution to our charging and syncing issue from a company called Parat. They offer a 20-slot 'Parasync' charging and syncing dock for a price of... wait for it... £900 per unit. I know. Ouch. (We bought three of these through the CLC, who managed to negotiate a price of £850 per unit).

Having used them for a while now I can confirm that they're invaluable. The last thing you need is 20 USB cables trailing around a classroom as you attempt to sync a class set of iPods at the same time. The obvious issue is that, if you are planning a class-based project, you are going to be incredibly lucky to have only 20 pupils in your class, meaning that you will need to rotate the devices in order to charge and sync them all. This is but a minor irritation.

They also work with other iPod models, including iPod Classic, iPod Nano and iPhone.

Apple MacBook syncing content through iTunes, using Parat Parasync 20-dock charging and syncing solution

Top Tip: Parasync units are manufactured to fit an iPod Touch WITHOUT a protective plastic case. Make sure you contact Parat early on as it is possible for them to modify the units to fit an iPod Touch WITH a case if you provide them with a sample to work with. This process took around a fortnight and cost an additional £50 per unit, taking the price back up to the original £900. Convenient.

So that was it. The initial procurement was done.

This is what we had purchased for each class:

1 x Apple MacBook computer @ £619

1 x Parat Parasync charging unit @ £900

32 x Apple 8GB iPod Touch with hard plastic case and screen protector @ £118

Bringing the total spend to £5295 per class.

Innovating with iPods - Selecting the Focus

January 2010

After accepting the offer of support, a meeting was held at school with SMT and Education Bradford's Paul Scott, Lead Teaching and Learning Consultant (ICT), to outline the proposal and to discuss our initial ideas for the kind of project we would like to run.

The Questions

We had a number of questions to answer which would shape our ultimate decision:

• Which Year Group(s) would benefit the most from this additional support? Could this be backed up with pupil progress data?
• What would be the specific focus of the project?
• Which device would best address this focus?
• Should we operate an "in school" or "take home" project?
• What would be the implications re: staff training? Would the answer differ depending on the Year Group we chose? Would there actually be enough time to provide this training?
• What on-site support would we receive from Education Bradford?

The Answers

• After an interesting discussion, it was decided that we would run the project with the current Year 5 cohort. Selecting Year 6 would have given insufficient time for the project to have an impact before the pupils left school (as it was already the beginning of the Spring Term). By choosing Year 5 we were able to see the process develop over four terms, until Summer 2011.

• The project focus was simple but incredibly broad: to raise attainment in all areas of literacy and numeracy with a view to the cohort reaching floor targets.

• As will be no shock, given the title of these posts, we chose to purchase iPod Touches. 96 of them in fact. One per pupil and member of staff in the cohort, plus an additional 10%.

Top Tip: When running a project like this, try to buy around 10% more kit than you actually need (or as much as your budget will allow). This will account for the inevitable loss or damage of the equipment. It will also mean that you have a device immediately available in the event of new pupils arriving.

Top Tip: If you are running a project with specific classes, try to provide each class teacher (and member of support staff, if possible) with a device of their own. This will provide an opportunity for them to become comfortable with the technology.

• We decided that we should keep the iPods in school. We all recognised the tremendous benefits there were to extending access to this powerful learning tool outside of conventional school hours. However, with pupil mobility at around 27%, it was decided that we were likely to 'lose' quite a number of devices. Many pupils leave school mid-year and some of those disappear without any dialogue with school. We also thought that if the iPods went home we would be presented with additional issues if pupils attempted to add their own content.

• There were obvious issues regarding staff training. We decided that there was very little time to actually provide much hands-on training. We decided that we would hold an initial meeting to unveil the project to the Year 5 team, introducing the device and some of the ideas we had to use them effectively, but that thereafter all support would come through lessons modelled by James Langley and I. Most of the support we would receive from Education Bradford was through James's time in school.

So that was it; decision made. We were to invest in iPod Touches for Year 5. Would you have chosen the same device? A different Year Group? Leave us a comment with your thoughts.

Innovating with iPods - An Introduction

About time too! It's taken me ages to get round to blogging properly about this, but with the summer holidays finally underway, I have now set aside some time to update my blog with detailed accounts of the exciting iPod Touch project my school has been running over the Summer Term.

For those of you who have been enquiring about our progress, I would like to thank you for your patience. I will endeavour to keep this blog up to date from now on.

Please feel free to leave comments with your thoughts, ideas and questions. I will read and respond to everything that I can. If you prefer, you can contact me via my Twitter page.

Background Info

I am the ICT Development Manager at Bowling Park Primary School, a split-site three-form entry primary school in Bradford. I have been at the school since September 2008. The main focus of my job is to manage the process of embedding ICT across the creative curriculum in school: planning, teaching, providing relevant staff training, etc. It's a diverse, interesting and challenging role.

Over the last two years, with the support of the school governors and SLT, Education Bradford's Curriculum ICT team and technical support provider Datacable, we have installed a wireless network across both sites, updated servers, implemented effective E-safety and Acceptable Use policies and invested heavily into new hardware (64 new laptops and 120 new netbooks) and software (such as the 2Simple Collection).

The Offer of a Lifetime

In January 2010, James Langley, Education Bradford Teaching and Learning Consultant (ICT), and I were approached to run an exciting and innovative project at school, using new technologies to engage learners and raise attainment.

Our school was selected for two main reasons:

1. After 18 months of hard work we had the infrastructure to cope with the demands that an influx of new technology would place on our servers (not to mention staff and pupils!)
2. We ticked the boxes. School had been achieving results below floor targets for a number of years and would, therefore, benefit from some additional, targeted support.

It will come as no surprise that, after a conversation with the Principal, we decided to accept the offer of this support. We were excited about the possibilities that were potentially being opened up to us and quickly arranged a meeting to discuss our ideas.

And so the journey began.