j224

Hi, There's some very useful threads and information on the forum already regarding iPads in schools but I still have some questions I haven't seen answers to so it would be really helpful is someone could clear things up. I'm the IT Tech at a primary school and we've just received 2 iPod Touches. Managing just two devices is pretty straight forward to do manually, but it's likely we'll buy more in the future. There's also plans to buy about 15 iPads in the near future. My first question is whether it's best to setup two iTunes accounts? One to purchase Touch apps and the other for iPad apps. It might make it easier when it comes to syncing them all? However, I'm not sure how this ties in with the new Volume License Programme- whether a school is allowed to sign up two different Apple ID's to act as 'Program Manager'. If we just used one iTunes account, how would you make sure the apps you want just on the iPods don't end up syncing to the iPad? At the moment I've just setup a new gmail account which I've used as an Apple ID and setup an iTunes account without entering credit card details. Setup the Touches as 'iPod_01' and 'iPod_02', manually configured some restrictions on each device, downloaded some apps on the computer and synced to each Touch separately. I've since learned that it's probably better (especially with more devices) to setup and sync one 'master' device, make a backup of it and sync that to the remaining devices. Will this change the name of all devices to be the same though? We have a couple of macbooks (being used by senior staff) and a few Macs in the classrooms, but we're mainly Windows. I noticed while reading through the iOS Deployment Guide that iTunes on Windows doesn't allow for multiple devices to be synced (only charged), so if we do get the iPads, we'll probably get a sync & charge trolley with a macbook to go with it which can be used as the 'app-purchasing computer'. My other issue is with iTunes. Currently I'm using my Windows laptop and have downloaded the iPod Touch apps while at home. While at school, connected to the SWGFL proxy server, I can get onto the App Store and search for an app but as soon as I click to download it I get an error saying there's a problem with the connection. However, if I access the App Store on the iPod Touch (which is connected to the same Wifi), it will let me download the app no problem. The connection issue is the same on a Mac unless I install SquidMan to bypass it. Sorry for the long post! Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks, James.

Sounds like Meraki is a bit unreliable.

The 'Enrol Now' seems to be working now. Has anyone actually enrolled and is currently using the volume licensing programme?

Thanks jmak- I think you mean Fraser Speirs - Blog though, not spiers, that's something completely unrelated.

Hi All, Has anyone had any luck getting Meraki working now that the Volume License Programme has been released in the UK? Our school is just starting to jump on the iOS bandwagon. James.

Hi everyone. Just signed up to the forums. I'm an ICT Technician at a primary school in Cornwall. We do pretty well when it comes to technology- got 35 desktops in the ICT suite, 32 laptops which we share around the classes day to day, and we've just received a couple of iPod Touch's. Naturally, I went looking for the best way to manage the Apple devices and it brought me to this forum. Our headteacher has asked me to get some quotes for at least 15 iPads now so it's important we get our heads around the deployment and management of apps. Rozzer, thanks for the link to Meraki. It looks very useful and I'd love to hear more about your experiences using it. Currently we have the iPods setup with unique device names and I've just been syncing the apps to both devices through the one iTunes account, as I've been seeing most of you on the forum are. I take it now that the Apple Volume License Programme has been released in the UK, that it is now illegal to continue syncing apps to all devices from the one account? Has anyone here already signed up to the programme? I've just been having a quick read through the iOS Education Deployment Guide- it's a bit wordy and it would be good to hear from someone who's tried and tested it. James.