iPad Management Switch
for MMS students
No More App Store (for students)
- MMS students will soon only be able to get apps through the App Catalog
- The regular App Store will be invisible which will block students from downloading apps of their choice
Why is this change possible now?
- iOS 9 gives Airwatch the ability to completely hide the app store
- Previously, the app store showed up when the app catalog was being used, which opened "the door" for students to download any app they wanted
- Because "the door" is now being closed, there is a lot of value in switching to the app catalog for middle school students
How does the App catalog change how I do things?
- The regular app store will never appear for the student
- Students can only get an app if it is in the app catalog
- You will need to give more time for apps to download than before
- You will need to request an app 2 school days ahead of time if you want it to appear in the app catalog (a Google Form will be created for this process and sent soon)
- Please give your students 2 weeks (in the beginning) before they are expected to have that app available to use in class
- Students will have to be proactive about coming to the tech office for help
Dates to Know
- October 23: Students are notified or this change via KMTV
- October 23: Parents are notified of this upcoming change by Dr Cox
- October 26-30 Students are backing up their iPads and getting help from tech office
- November 2: The APP store will disappear for all students
- November 3: 7th graders will have iPad erased and set up again in History
- November 4: 8th graders will have iPads erased and set up again in PP/AVID
- November 5-??: Absent students, lost iPads, forgotten iPads, damaged iPads, etc will be tracked down, erased, and set up again
What do the students have to do to be prepared for this?
- Be on iOS 9 (tech will hunt them down next week)
- Be logged into their MIDWAY google drive account (tech is working on this)
- Be sure any items that want saved are in their Google Drive account
- Students will get this info in 7th History and 8th PP/AVID
- Students will have to be proactive to get help from tech office if they want to be sure their items will be saved after the "big erase"
What about the digital learning goals?
- It will take from October 26 - approximately Thanksgiving for iPads to be back to normal
- Your evaluator has agreed to let you choose 1 goal to complete for the 2nd 6 weeks or the 3rd 6 weeks (not both)
- So, get one done now, or plan one between Thanksgiving and Christmas
When should I stop assigning projects on the iPad?
- Please do not expect students to turn in and creation type projects after Friday, October 23rd
- This is to give students time to back up their current work
- They will still be able to use their iPad for Email, Safari, Google Drive, etc
When will students find out?
- Please do not tell students this information early.
- Dr Cox will be notifying parents on Friday, October 23.
- A KMTV announcement will be made on Friday, October 23rd, giving students plenty of time to prepare for this change.
- By October 23rd or 26th, the students will be given more details on how to prepare for this in their 7th History or 8th Panther Pathway/Avid class
Does this mean everything will be back to normal with iPads on November 5th? (NO!)
- It will possibly take until Thanksgiving to get every iPad wiped out and set up again (lost iPads, dead iPads, left at home iPads, damaged iPads, absent students)
- It will take a couple of weeks for students to get apps from the app catalog downloaded to their ipad
What does it mean to tell a student to back up their ipad?
- See the diagram below to help understand how to save things
- This will not cover every app, but it is only a guide
- Students can come to tech office anytime for help
- Students will be shown this guide in 7th History/8th PP/Avid
Apps that will be added to the App Catalog
- I have not had a chance to update this list after all the suggestions given on Tech Tuesday.
- Please stay tuned for the process for requesting apps to be added to the App Catalog.
- There will be a way for students to request apps, too.
- In the meantime, the link below is a current example of the apps you would expect to see in the App Catalog