Troubleshooting iPad software update to version 5.0.1

So far a dozen or so of you have updated the software with no difficulties. 

Incidentally, you CAN open an iTunes account without a credit card -- follow instructions at
support.apple.com/kb/ht2534

[update 12/1] Out of 29 students with iPads, 28 have already updated to iOS5 with minimal difficulties. 

Settings on your iPad

During your iPad setup, there are a number of settings you can choose. Many of these choices are up to you, some we require, and some we recommend: 

• enable Location services (required) 
• enable "Find my iPad" (required)
• enable iCloud (recommended)
• choose iCloud backup (recommended)

Initial setup of the iPads

The iPad initial setup will, in all honesty, be clunky. This is how we will proceed. After signing the Student Acceptable Use Agreement and receiving your iPad, you need to do the following when you get to your room:

1. Download and install iTunes on your laptop, if you don’t already have it. If you are not sure how to do this, watch the tutorial at http://bit.ly/vJVikQ
2. Connect the iPad to your laptop using the included cord and wait until your laptop installs all the necessary drivers. At this point, iTunes will start up. Note that if you have an outdated version of iTunes, it may ask you to upgrade the iTunes before it allows the iPad setup.
3. You need to go through a few iTunes screens to register your iPad.There are good tutorials that walk you through the registration steps: http://bit.ly/ubG4E9. Once you reach an empty iTunes screen, it is time to continue the configuration on your iPad. 
4. There are a number of iPad settings you choose along the way. Please read the separate post about the settings we require and the settings we recommend. [Hint: to move to the next setting, touch "Next" button in the top right corner of the screen] The critical step at this point is the networking:
1. Network: choose LVwlan and enter your Lawrenceville network id and password; than choose “Accept” on the Certificate.
2. On the “Set Up iPad”, choose “Set Up as New iPad”
3. Skip entering your Apple id on the “Apple ID” screen and finish the other settings.
5. At this point, you should see the iPad desktop. Open Safari and enter any URL. Choose ‘Continue’ when you see “Cannot verify Server Identity” popup. You now have to go through connecting your iPad to our network. This process is similar to how you registered your computer when you first got to campus. At the end, the webpage should display a message that your device is registered.
6. Disconnect your iPad cable from your laptop, wait 10 seconds, and reconnect it.
7. Follow iTunes screens on your laptop to associate the iPad with your iTunes/Apple ID. Choose ‘Setup as a New iPad’ and continue following the instructions, some of which may be repeats of what you had already configured on the iPad.
8. Now comes the crucial part -- you need to choose "Update" to get your iPad software to version 5.0.1 on this screen:
   

   
   

   Depending on the connection, this update may take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours. During the update, your iPad will reboot a few times. At the end, iTunes should indicate that the update is complete.

   
   

   When the update is done, please check Settings → About → Version on your iPad.
   It should say "5.0.1". If it does not, try repeating from Step 5 above.

   
   

Troubleshooting:

1. Visit this blog to see if a solution to your problem is posted under the "Troubleshooting" post here. If it is not, leave a comment under Troubleshooting describing where you are stuck. I will be checking and replying here frequently.
2. Google the problem you are having

iPad Pilot kick off

Welcome to the iPad Pilot. Since this is the first pilot of its kind for all of us, expect a few bumps along the way. This blog is a central clearing house for thoughts, discussions, help and instructions related to this pilot, so you may want to check it regularly.

Update #2 on "iPad as Smartboard"

Success!!! After weeks of testing, I have finally succeeded in getting Option 1 to work: in the video below, I am drawing (with a different color) on three iPads and the drawing is instantly displayed on the other iPads and on the projector (projected on to the whiteboard).


   

Stay tuned for the details of the necessary equipment and the best app for this task...

iPad in the classroom

The "Apple"-dom has been raving about AirPlay feature and its potential since its introduction sometime in the beginning of 2011. What is it? AirPlay allows the iPad (2 only) to mirror its display wirelessly on to Apple TV and via that, onto any projection system you have. The catch is that in order to mirror an app, the app must be AirPlay-enabled. Apple even introduced a special section in iTunes devoted to AirPlay-Enabled Apps. So, how much adoption has AirPlay had? 




Here's the image of this iTunes section in Mar 2011 (11 apps)

and here's the same section in iTunes today, Nov 2011  (48 apps):

Given the hundreds of thousands of apps iTunes has, these snapshots do not bode well. Apple seems to have abandoned this section of iTunes in favor of a section at theapple.tv, which is larger (132 apps):

   

but still a disappointing number given the hundreds of thousands of apps out there. 

Apple wants iPad to be a classroom tool. In order to accomplish this, iPad must have an easy way to have its display projected, either on to a screen via a projector or on to a TV. 

What are Apple's plans in all this?

Android tips of the week

I came across  "20 essential Android 3.0 tips and tricks", and, even though our Lenovo ThinkPad Tablets cannot be upgraded to Android 3.0 yet, I tried these tips and (almost all) worked! #16 (longer battery) did not, which is a bummer. But many of the other tips are excellent. 

Update on "iPad as Smartboard"

I did not emphasize one important difference between the three options, namely, what other apps can be projected as part of the setup.


Option 1: Projector can display any AirPlay-enabled app. Right now, the number of such appls is modest, but it is expected to increase. In summary, this option will display (some) of what you are able to run on your iPad.


Option 2: Anything that your classroom PC is able to display -- you are not limited by iPad's features. This means you can project Java, Flash, Shockwave, etc.  


Option 3: same as option 2.

iPad tips of the week

If your iPad is running iOS 5 (I am not sure if these apply to earlier versions)...


Screenshot: to take a screenshot, press Power and Home buttons at the same time; the screenshot is saved in Photos.


Folders: to create a folder, tap and hold on an icon until all icons start to jiggle, then drag one icon over another and drop it. A folder is created with both icons.  You can rename the folder: get all icons jiggling, tap the folder icon, then tap the folder name -- a keyboard pops up to edit folder name.


View all running apps: double-tap Home button.


USB charging: iPad needs a high-power USB connection; many USB ports on laptops, desktops and USB hubs are low-power. The iPad might charge even on the low-power port, but it will take a long time and the iPad must be turned off. 

iPad as replacement of Smartboard

Existing Setup: each classroom contains a PC (Windows or Mac, it does not matter) and a projector with WiFi and VGA inputs (but no HDMI). 


Goal: enable students and teacher to use their iPads to 
(a) collaborate "live", with everyone's writing appearing on one "whiteboard" or "canvas", and
(b) display it instantly on the projector.
In other words, every person in class can write/draw on his/her iPad and everyone's contribution appears instantly on a single "canvas" that everyone can see on his/her iPad, and which the projector displays.

Such a setup would eliminate the need for Smartboard and enable better collaboration in classroom. 



Solutions: Unfortunately, there are no perfect solutions. Option 1 does not use the classroom PC, but instead requires the purchase and installation of 2 extra pieces of equipment in the classroom. The other options compromise on one of the requirements (a) or (b).

Option 1: install an Apple TV and HDMI-to-VGA converter in each classroom.


The only general method for mirroring iPad display onto an outside display is to use iOS5's AirPlay Mirroring app, which wirelessly mirrors iPad display to Apple TV, which can then be output by Apple TV onto whatever device is connected to it, e.g. an HDTV or a projector. Since the projector accepts only VGA, and Apple TV outputs only HDMI, we need the converter. There are at least a dozen "Interactive White Board" (IWB) apps that allow multiple iPads to work in real-time on the same shared "canvas" or whiteboard. An IWB app that works with this setup must be AirPlay-compatible. One such app is 2Screens ($5). 

Option 2: compromise on requirement (a): "collaborate live". 


This is a "single-writer" solution and it uses the classroom PC hooked up to the projector. One app is installed on an iPad and another app on the classroom PC. The iPad app has two modes. In the remote-desktop mode, the iPad controls the classroom PC, i.e. the iPad acts as a mouse and keyboard to the classroom PC. So, any applications you have on the classroom PC appear on the iPad screen and can be controlled from the iPad. In the notepad mode, any writing/drawing made on the iPad instantly appears on the classroom PC (and via that, on the projector). The "collaborate live" is absent since the app on the classroom PC can be paired up with only one iPad.


Apps in this category include Doceri, Splashtop, AirDisplay, and AirSketch.  


Option 3: compromise on requirement (b): "display instantly on the projector". 


There are a number of applications which provide a single "canvas" on which multiple iPads can write/draw in real-time, i.e. IWB from Option 1. These apps can periodically export the results as images or PDFs, and these exports can then be displayed on the projector (for example, using an app mentioned in the previous option). At any time, the projector in this solution displays a recent snapshot of the collaboration effort, rather than the collaboration "live". 


IWB apps include ZigZag, SyncSpace, SyncPad.

I have been crazily testing the various apps and setups mentioned in this post and will soon write up my conclusions on the best ones. 

Passwords ... no need to remember

If you are tired of remembering your passwords (or tired of always forgetting them), there are some very good solutions that will remember the passwords for you. The one I use is lastpass.com. It has extensions for all common browsers, which means that when I create any account, it offers to remember the login and password for me. When I come back to the site sometime later, lastpass offers to log me in automatically. Lastpass stands for "last password", as in "the last password you need to remember". If you need help installing or using it, leave a comment and I'll get a short screencast to show you how to do it.


In case you are not convinced you need to have different passwords, especially for the "unimportant" logins, read the excellent post "The thousand-dollar penalty for reusing passwords" by W. Leonhard