iPad Boot Camp 2016

The return to school for 2016 might seem a long way away, but our compulsory iPad Boot Camp evenings will be held on the first and second days of school. Year 3 parents will receive an email this week with more details, including your allocated date for iPad Boot Camp 2016. Please mark this date in your calendar as soon as you can.

Boot Camp attendance is compulsory for every 2016 Year 4 student, along with at least one of their parents. Please also bring your iPad!

Boot Camps are held over two evenings (January 27 and 28) but you only need attend one. The program is identical each night. The focus of the event is Cyber Safety and Digital Citizenship. Meet in the Nano Nagle Centre for a prompt 6pm start. The evening will conclude at 7.30pm.

Parents, you will stay in the Nano Nagle Centre for a presentation on 1 to 1 iPad Policy and Guidelines. Year 4 students will be taken to their classrooms by their teachers to participate in some timely activities around classroom expectations for use of the iPads, information privacy and keeping safe online.

Start your 1 to 1 iPad year on the 'right FOOT'!

CompNow Collection Time

A reminder that CompNow orders are ready to be collected from the school library. Please collect your orders on Wed 25th or Thurs 26th between 8.00 am and 3.30pm. If you cannot make it to the library within these times, please contact Maria to make alternate arrangements. If you are sending a friend or family member in your place at these times, please also advise Maria at mmead[at]bne.catholic.edu.au .

The CompNow purchase portal is open again as of last Monday 23rd for second round orders. Please place last orders before the portal closes again on December 18. We expect second round orders to be delivered to school sometime during the week of January18th.

Please subscribe to this blog or check this space around January 18th for further details about collection times for second round orders.

CompNow Purchase portal open 23rd November to 18th December, 2015.

CompNow iPad Delivery - Round 1

Families who ordered iPads through the CompNow Purchase portal, we expect to take delivery at school next week. You may pick up any ordered iPads from the school library on Wednesday 25th or Thursday 26th, between the hours of 8am and 3.30pm. 

We prefer not to send the iPads home with students unless requested. If you cannot make it to the school library before 3.30pm on those days next week, please email Maria to make alternate arrangements. If you would like a representative (family member or friend) to pick up the iPad on your behalf, please also arrange this by emailing Maria. Unless alternate arrangements are made, we will only be handing iPads out to the person identified on the CompNow order.

The CompNow Purchase Portal will open again on Monday 23rd for a second round of orders. Final date for second round orders will be December 18th. iPads ordered during this second period will be delivered to school in the week before term 1 begins next year. Please watch this space for second round pickup arrangements.

CompNow Purchase portal opening again on Monday 23rd November.

Hiring an iPad from school?

One of the many options for providing your child's 1 to 1 device is to hire an iPad from the school. The model we make available for hire is the 32GB iPad Air. The cost per term, as well as all the other information you need to be aware of, is outlined on the School iPad Hire Agreement form, located on the Parent Portal > 1 to 1 page*.

If you do intend to hire for the 2016 school year, a signed iPad Hire Agreement form, along with the non-refundable $50 joining/insurance fee, is due at the school office no later than Monday 23rd November. If you do not lodge your form by this date, we may not be able to accommodate your request to hire.

*Please contact the school office if you cannot access the Parent Portal. Access passwords were emailed to all parents in July.

Counting Down to Setup Night

Coming up next Tuesday night (Oct 27th) is our annual "iPad Setup Night" - an optional school event for Year 3 parents, kicking off at 7pm sharp in the Nano Nagle Centre. 

Please aim to arrive 10-15 minutes or before 7pm, so you can find a decent carpark, sign in, pick up all your goodies, catch up with your friends and bag the best seats. Latecomers may have to resort to that (horrifying) front row. Please bring your child's iPad if you have it. The meeting will conclude by 8.30pm.

What happens at Setup Night?

1. Welcome and Intro - 20-30 minutes
Paul and Maria will address all parents with an update on school procedures and policy around the 1 to 1 program. You'll hear a rundown on our Handbooks (this will be your only chance to pick up a printed copy of the setup guide) and the Forms that must be signed and submitted before your child begins the program next year. You'll also hear some quick pre-holiday tips for managing iPads at home. There'll be a chance to ask burning questions before the group disperses to the 'Genius Tables'.

2. Genius Table sessions - own choice, 10-minute rotations
Emulating AppleStore practice, you will be invited to attend a series of 'Genius Tables' of your choice, to participate in 10 minute workshops on various iPad management topics. Each table will be 'personned' by one of our many experts who will take you through a particular procedure or impart some iPad tips and tricks. Most (but not all) of the Genius Table topics are covered in our iPad Setup Guide (available for download from our school's Parent Portal).

You won't have time to visit all of the 'Genius Tables' before the event concludes at 8.30pm (our geniuses need their sleep to stay sharp). Some of the topics on offer you'll already know about and if you're an absolute beginner with an iPad, you won't want to be overwhelmed by too much too soon. So, choose from the menu those topics and procedures that you consider most urgent, move to your selected tables in any order and be ready to move on to the next table when the bell sounds.

Some of the topics on offer are:

• Configuring the Mail app for BCE student accounts
• Using Restrictions for home use
• Checking Safari history for visited sites
• Creating folders and moving apps to the dock
• Keyboard tips and tricks
• Using multi-tasking gestures for more efficient use
• Managing Purchased items in the App Store
• Setting up Family Sharing
• Creating an Apple ID

I've been using an iPad for years, why would I bother coming?

You certainly are not obliged to attend. We offer this event to help parents feel more comfortable and competent to manage and supervise the device that their children will be required to use for school learning from next year. But keep in mind, even if you only stay for the initial 'whole group' address, this may be a welcome chance to brush up on the program and ask any questions. Maybe you missed our Contemporary Learning information session in July? Maybe you've thought of more questions since then?

You might choose to stay for only one or two 'Genius Table' sessions (see list above) - for example, you might wish to set up your child's email account in the iPad's Mail app, create your child's Apple ID ready to go next year, or learn more about Family Sharing. You can head for home as soon as you have what you need.

What's this I hear about a "CyberSafety Boot Camp" in January?

Our Boot Camp is a compulsory event, held the night before school starts in January. All Year 4 (2016) students plus at least one of their parents/guardians must attend. The focus is Digital Citizenship, in particular, encouraging safe and responsible practices when our students are using their iPads at home and school.

New-Look Login for BCE

Tonight, rather than catching up on the latest episode of The Block, Brisbane Catholic Education's Information Services team will be finishing an upgrade to their web portals for school users. 

The improvements will make the systems even less vulnerable to unauthorised access and therefore, safer for all.

The two major changes that students and parents will see from tomorrow (Wednesday 21st October) are:

1) A new login page for BCE online services. You will see a background image and the following prompts:

New login screen for BCE services

No prizes for guessing that  you have to click/tap 'Brisbane Catholic Education', then follow the instructions. Usernames and passwords will not change.

2) You no longer need to use ‘catholic\’ before your username. This requirement has been removed to make the login process simpler.

When Father Christmas can't bring an iPad

Those busy elves can only manage limited iPad production before this Christmas comes around. We recommend that you have a contingency plan in case Santa doesn't drop a new iPad down your own chimney... 
Here is an updated list of options for providing your child's iPad, in time for the Year 4 school year:

1. Hire through the school

St Catherine's offers 32GB iPad Airs for hire on a term-by-term basis. Hire fees are processed through your school fee account. All the details are on the School iPad Hire Agreement Form on the Parent Portal > 1 to 1. Hire Agreement Forms will be due in towards the end of term, so we can have the iPad ready for you to pick up from school the week before Term 1 begins next year. 

Hiring is not the most cost effective option long term but families choose to hire for a number of reasons:

• If the iPad is only required for a year or two as their child will not be enrolled at St. Catherine's until the end of Year 6
• To make it easier to enforce strict rules about content, for example "No, you may NOT install any game apps - that's a SCHOOL iPad!"
• To give their child a trial, let's-see-how-well-you-take-care-of-this-one period before investing in their own device
• We only have an iPad mini available at home and the school 1 to 1 program requires the larger 9.7" screen
• If, for any reason, funds to cover in full an outright purchase are hard to find at this point in time.

2. Purchase through the CompNow portal

CompNow is Brisbane Catholic Education's "preferred supplier" of iPads. This year, for the first time, we have been able to arrange education pricing for parents. Orders are online via the CompNow Purchase Portal and iPads will be delivered to school for parents to pick up. We'll advise you as to pickup location, date and time once they arrive. Online orders are due by October 30 for pick up  from school before the end of Term 4, 2015. But here's a heads up - there will be a second CompNow shipment so if you are happy to collect the iPad in the week before school starts in 2016 to pick up the iPad, you will be able to order after the October 30 deadline. I've not been advised as to whether CompNow's pricing will be held at the current price for a later shipment. The CompNow portal also offers optional accessories like screen protectors, cases and earphones. For children we don't recommend Apple's "in-ear" buds available on this portal. Please be aware that the school book list specifies "over ear" headphones. CompNow also discounts AppleCare+ warranty cover as an optional extra. You'll find more detail about what AppleCare+ covers on the Apple Website.

3. Purchase through another retailer

You are free to purchase the iPad at any retailer you like. You may have an affiliation with a particular iPad reseller, a family member who works at a particular store, gift vouchers, accrued store points or special rewards that you wish to take advantage of. The choice is yours. Just beware of advertised specials that come close to special "green tier" education pricing available through CompNow - often only limited stocks are available. For example, I saw the iPad Air 32GB advertised through a major retailer at a "special runout price" of $579 recently. When I phoned the store I found that they were sold out - there were only ever two iPads available at this price. You'd have to be extremely quick or very lucky. If you do take this option and your friendly retail sales rep offers to set the iPad up for you, please take along a copy of St Catherine's iPad Setup Guide. This will save time at school reconfiguring settings to match the school's policy and guidelines.

4. Purchase through the Apple Store***

***Breaking news - and you heard it here first!

The Apple Store at Carindale is only a stone's throw away from most of us and they are poised to offer us a purchase portal similar to CompNow's. Now I'm not holding my breath (I've previously had my hopes dashed by similar promises) but very soon, they tell me, you will be able to rock up to the Carindale Apple Store and say, "I need to buy an iPad for the St. Catherine's Wishart 1 to 1 program". That's the [secret passcode] for "please give me special education pricing". I'm told the AppleStore prices will match CompNow's deal. The added benefit of a face-to-face instore purchase is that the capable and friendly folk at the AppleStore will help you set the iPad up. Not quite as fun as coming along to our wonderful iPad Setup Evening at school on October 27th, but it may take the stress out of the equation if you're that way inclined. We strongly recommend taking along a copy of the St Catherine's iPad Setup Guide so your AppleStore assistant knows the school's preferences for iPad settings. This may save some time-consuming reconfiguring at school once Year 4 begins.

5. RE-allocate one you already own

You may prefer to replace a family-owned iPad with a brand new one and allocate the older one to your Year 4 child. A few things to keep in mind:

• The iPad must be available exclusively to your child during school terms. Use by other, particularly older, family members can leave distracting or inappropriate material lurking on the iPad for your Year 4 child to find. When teachers do their "spot checks" any browser history or running apps are assumed to be your Year 4 child's and they will wear the consequences for inappropriate use.
• The battery must last a full school day on one recharge. No charging facilities will be provided at school.
• The camera and all external switches and buttons must be in good working order.
• These days the minimum capacity for comfort is 32GB. Families with 16GB iPads report difficulties maintaining sufficient free space for optimum performance. 
• Cracked screens can slice skin. Various outlets at shopping centres will replace iPad screens for around $120.

iPad Purchase Portal LIVE

Our online iPad purchase portal (via BCE preferred supplier, CompNow) is up and running. Click this link or the image below to browse the available iPad models and accessories. 

Please note that all orders must be placed by 30th October to ensure delivery and distribution prior to the end of the school year.

There are two different models for you to choose from, each in two colours: The iPad Air 1 (32GB) or the iPad Air 2 (64GB). We have not provided any 16 GB options. Many current 1 to 1 parents are reporting difficulties with storing all necessary apps and data on 16 GB iPads. Since we launched the 1 to 1 program in 2013, there have been several major iOS upgrades. Each new operating system requires more memory and storage space and our requisite apps are constantly developing functions and features which require more memory. The school must now recommend that parents provide an iPad with at least 32 GB capacity.

You are under no obligation to purchase your child's iPad via this portal. You may source the iPad elsewhere or use any full size 32GB model (wifi only) with a battery that lasts through a school day.

Student BCE Accounts

Students in Year 3 set their new BCE Account passwords on Monday. They each brought home a note with their accounts details (username, password and email address) glued on. Please keep this note in a safe place, or record these details digitally for later reference.

If you did not receive this note (or found the contents too crushed or obscured by orange juice to be legible), please contact your child's teacher for your child's details. If your child was not at school on Monday this week, we will catch up with them when they return to school or early next term and help them to set their password.

There is one job remaining to have these BCE student accounts fully configured... A job that is too fraught with potential pitfalls to attempt in a classroom situation, with students of this age:  Setting "Secret Questions". Parents, if you would like to gain more control over your child's BCE Account and improve your access, please take 5 minutes to follow the steps below, to set the "Secret Questions" on your child's account. This way, if ever the password is lost or forgotten, it will be an easier task for you to gain access to the account and reset the password.

Thanks, as always, for your help!

Setting "Secret Questions"

First, open your favourite browser and go to the Student Dashboard website. Here's the address so you can bookmark it for future use: https://portals.bne.catholic.edu.au/schools/stcatherinescps/studentdashboard/default.aspx 

Then use these screenshots to follow the steps...

Please note that the answers you record will be case sensitive.
Once you complete the steps above and hit Submit, you will see this screen again:

From here, you can use the Student Dashboard link to return to the login screen. The BCE Student Dashboard link is always in the top right hand pane of this blog should you need it again.

Preparing Passwords

Next week, year 3 classes will log into their BCE student accounts to set a private password, in readiness for 1 to 1 iPads next year. Here's what parents will need to know: 

How can parents help?

Your child will need a password that is private, secure and that fulfils the minimum security requirements of Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) systems. Over the next week, please discuss this with your child and help them to choose a password that they will easily recall and which has the following:

• at least 7 characters
• at least one numeric character
• at least one capital letter

We suggest children choose a key word that is familiar to them, such as a pet's name or favourite musician, sporting team, colour or vegetable (favourite vegetable?? Ha ha!). Many letters can be replaced with numbers as you might see on car registration plates, or even other characters such as @ or !. Try not to make the password overly long as this increases the time taken and the chances of inadvertent errors when typing it.

Once you have worked out a password with your child, you can record it in a 'secret' place for them to bring to school, or send it in a note to your child's teacher. Many children may be able to memorise their chosen password sufficiently well to bring it to school 'in their heads'. They will need it ready for sessions in class on Monday or Wednesday next week.

It will be helpful to keep the password recorded somewhere safe at home so they child can commit it to memory. Practise typing it on a keyboard (even a printed paper copy of a keyboard!) so they can quickly and easily learn the location of the letters and type it quickly on their own.

Keeping passwords safe and secure...

At school we will stress the importance of keeping this password secure and private. Children must share their password with only their parents, no one else. This means not sharing it with siblings or friends - even BFFs! We will explain that a real friend would never ask anyone to share a password. Please reinforce this message at home.

How will students use their BCE accounts?

Next year and beyond, email will be a primary source of digital communication with teachers. The BCE student accounts will also be used to access Google Drive which is our primary Cloud storage facility in our 1 to 1 classrooms and other services such as LIFE (BCE's learning management system), Google Maps and Showbie (our primary service for digital submission, feedback and assessment of student work).

This year in Year 3, students are not required to use their BCE accounts at all. In fact, we ask that parents do not encourage the use of student email accounts unless you are prepared to closely monitor your child's use. No formal instruction in safe and responsible use of email will be undertaken until Year 4.

Why take this step so soon then?

Students require an Apple ID dedicated to their own use for school next year. Every Apple ID requires an email address. Parents who already use Apple's Family Sharing may wish to use the child's existing Apple ID, generated for under-age users within the Family Sharing setup. This "Family Sharing" Apple ID will use an iCloud address that ends in "@icloud.com".

The other alternative is to create a new Apple ID for your child in which case we ask that you use the child's school (BCE) email address. As the children are under 13 years of age, this Apple ID account must be owned and managed by a parent (and have a parent's birth year recorded during the application process). But they can be created in the child's name and ideally, using the child's school email address. For those parents who wish to have the Apple ID and Mail app set up as the iPads are purchased, it's not too early to send these BCE email account details home now.

So what do I do with my child's account details?

Students' BCE account details will be sent home next week. Please keep these details in a safe and secure place at home. You may wish to record your child's BCE username and email address digitally, say in a contacts list. It's not recommended to record their password in the same place as their username, or alongside any personal identification.

If you are setting up an Apple ID you will need to access your child's email via their Student Dashboard. There is always a direct link to the Student Dashboard on this blog, towards the top of the right hand pane. You might like to bookmark this site on a home computer so you can continue to monitor your child's use of email throughout their years in a 1 to 1 iPad classroom.

Once logged into the Student Dashboard, look for the Outlook link which will take you to your child's email inbox.

Web Outlook

Thank you parents, as always, for your amazing support.

iPad Purchase and Setup Options

Breaking news this week...

We have negotiated a special purchase offer from BCE supplier CompNow for St Catherine's Parents. As you read this post, CompNow are busy preparing a special purchase portal for St Catherine's families so you can easily select and order your iPad and optional case online at specially negotiated prices. Several different iPad Wi-Fi only models (from 32GB upwards) will be available through this offer, along with additional options such as extra warranty and finance purchase options.

WATCH this space, for a link to your special iPad purchase portal. 

COMING SOON!

iPad Setup Evening Event

Regardless of how you intend to supply your child's iPad for next year, you might want to take advantage of our (optional) iPad Setup Night, scheduled for Tuesday 27th October, 2015. The focus of this evening event is iPad Safety.

We encourage any parents who will have iPads in use by children at home over the Christmas break to come along and gain some advice about how to set the iPad up to ensure a safer environment, monitor children's use of the iPad's internet browser and restrict access to inappropriate content.

We will cover some of these hints and tips at the compulsory Cyber Safety Boot Camp in January 2016, but that event is ill-timed to cover recreational use over the holiday break. If some ground rules for safe and responsible use of then iPad are established from the outset, children will become accustomed to your expectations and many unsafe habits may be avoided.

So, we hope you will mark this event in your calendar:

iPad Setup Night

7pm Tuesday 27th October

Nano Nagle Centre

Getting Our Heads in the Cloud

The floppy disc era is ancient history, at least in technological terms.
CDs and DVDs have been on the way out for years.
USB sticks were only ever designed for short term transportation of files, as they can so easily fail (and they don't take kindly to passing through the wash in someone's pocket!).
Hard disk drives can only ever be in one location at a time. If they are lost or damaged, so is all your data.
But fear not, "Cloud" storage options are coming to our rescue...

 

What is this "Cloud" thing anyway?

"The Cloud" is really just another metaphor for the world wide web - the huge network of computers and servers around the world that are connected via the internet. Many companies such as Google, Adobe, Amazon and Apple run huge server "farms", housed in enormous warehouses all over the world. They can use their global network of computers and servers to store and process information. By sharing resources they can (supposedly) optimise performance and ensure that important data is safely "backed up" and always accessible as it's not sorted in only one location.

Why bother with "Cloud Storage"?

Anyone who relies on digitally stored files will probably have a sad story to tell of precious photos lost on failed hard drives or hours of work down the drain due to hardware malfunction, loss or theft.

When we sync files to an online storage facility, we can be confident that we can retrieve an up to date copy of our data whenever and wherever we need it. Online services such as Google Drive or Adobe Creative Suite allow users to access and use data from multiple devices and locations

It's important that we help our students to begin good file management habits from the moment they begin to rely on a digital device for their learning. They need to be aware of where their files (photos, documents and projects) are stored and which of their files should be safely backed up.

What happens to my apps and other stored data if something happens to my iPad?

Many of our 1 to 1 students have already been "saved by the Cloud" when their iPads have "died", locked up due to a forgotten passcode, or required a total reset (erase) for some other reason. We should never rely on storing important files in only one place (such as the iPad).

You won't have to worry about your iPad apps. Once an app is purchased or installed under an Apple ID, it will always be associated with that Apple ID. Even if the app is deleted from the iPad, it can be downloaded again at no extra charge (on up to 5 personal devices). But what about your child's photos and other school work? How safe are these files if the iPad is compromised?

Here's the drum on our recommended Cloud storage options, and how to configure the iPad to maximise your free alternatives:

1. Google Drive
Brisbane Catholic Education provides all students at St Catherine's with a modified Google Drive account linked to their BCE mail account. Please note that students will NOT have access to YouTube or Google+ as these are social media tools and therefore not for use by under 13s, but they will be able to use Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Maps and (drum roll please...) they have access to a massive 30GB of cloud storage. (That's double what their teachers get!) Google Drive is where students can store their important school projects and assessment items, and where they can go to access materials provided by their teachers.

An example of a class Google Drive folder. Documents can be uploaded here by teachers and accessible to all students. Students can create their own folders and store their own work. They can choose to make files visible to all students in their class, or only to their teacher.

There's no need for you to do anything with Google Drive just yet. Classroom teachers will work with students to familiarise them with Google Drive in the first few weeks of Year 4. We'll also show them how to upload precious photos and files, and how to use the Docs, Sheets and Slides apps to create files, share and collaborate on projects.

2. My Photo Stream 
Turning on My Photo Stream will ensure that the most recent photos captured on the iPad are safely stored in Apple's cloud storage service, "iCloud". This service is free. For those students with more than one device, photos will automatically sync to all devices connected to the same AppleID, and remain in their Photo Stream for 30 days. Please note that any videos in the Camera Roll will not be uploaded to Photo Stream but they can be uploaded to Google Drive.

From time to time, it's a good idea to plug the iPad into a home computer so that any videos or older photos you want to keep can be saved. You can then delete the files from the Camera Roll. This will ensure that the Photos app does not hog too much of the iPad's storage capacity.

To turn on My Photo Stream, go to Settings > iCloud.

Ensure that Photos is switched to On.

We advise that you keep iCloud Photo Library turned OFF as storing your entire photo library in iCloud will quickly fill your free iCloud storage allowance. But My Photo Stream and iCloud Photo Sharing can both be turned ON. Photos stored in My Photo Stream do not count against your iCloud storage.

3. iCloud Drive
Apple's cloud storage option, "iCloud Drive" offers 5GB free storage space. If you configure the settings carefully, this should be all your child will need to safely backup any remaining school files on their iPad.

Go to Settings > iCloud and ensure iCloud Drive is switched ON.
Here you can turn apps ON or OFF. When an app is turned ON, it will store its documents in iCloud Drive.

This means that if data on the iPad is ever lost or erased, those files will automatically download once you sign back into iCloud on a new or restored iPad.

Have You Got it COVERED?

There are literally hundreds of different iPad cover styles and colours and to a certain extent, the choice should be yours to make, with your child. If you are prepared to wait some weeks for delivery, eBay shops will save you money. Just note any delivery fees and take those into account when selecting a cover.

Some of the options include:

• Stands

Being able to safely prop up your iPad to view a video, without leaning over the screen or holding the device up with both hands can be very useful. Some stands also offer a lower level prop, which enables more ergonomic use of the onscreen keyboard. Look for both options.

The ability to prop the iPad at different levels is very handy

• Keyboards

These seem like a good idea but they make the cover very bulky and unwieldy if you simply want to use the camera. Unless an occupational therapist has advised that your child avoid the onscreen keyboard, it's best to avoid covers with built-in keyboards. While they're at primary school, students don't often type large volumes of text on the iPads. If you do want to give them access to a keyboard, you may be better off purchasing a separate bluetooth keyboard that you keep at home. This will provide a full-sized, tactile keyboard that doesn't have to stay attached to the iPad. Please note this is not a requirement for the program. For the great majority of students, the onscreen keyboard is adequate.

A case with a built-in keyboard can be bulky and unwieldy.

• Screen protectors

The cover should have a flap which covers the screen while the iPad is being transported. Some "tough" covers protect the screen with transparent plastic. This can become scratched and because it does not adhere to the iPad screen, it can inhibit the function of the fixed screen. We have found that as long as the corners of the iPad are adequately protected, and the flap closed when not in use, the tough "gorilla glass" screen is very scratch resistant. Avoiding a plastic screen protector will give you the best experience with the touch screen as its sensitivity is not inhibited.

A flap that closes over the screen will help prevent cracking or shattering on impact.

• Stylus

Access to a stylus is not necessary for the 1 to 1 program. To borrow the words of Steve Jobs, "God gave us ten!" These items may make drawing, writing onscreen or extremely precise use of certain apps easier for some students but they're very easy to misplace so should probably stay at home, unless they can attach to the cover in some way.

A stylus is not be necessary for school use.

• Corner protection

Please choose a cover that offers good protection of the corners of the iPad.  If the iPad is dropped, the corners are the most vulnerable part of the screen and any cracks or breakages will most likely originate here.

The corners need extra protection from impact damage.

• Camera Access

The cover needs to fit snugly. This will make it less likely that the precious iPad may slip out of the cover when in use. Also, make sure you purchase the correct cover for your particular iPad model (e.g. the iPad Air is slightly thinner and narrow than previous models). If the iPad can move around inside the case, it is likely the camera lens may be obscured. This can make use of the camera extremely frustrating. Check the holes/openings for the camera (mic and speakers). They need to offer a sufficient margin for each feature. For example, part of the camera lens may be obscured by the thick edge of the iPad cover, causing a shadow or blur at the edge of each photo.

Whatever cover you choose, the iPad AND cover should be clearly labelled with the student's name. This will allow quick return if the iPad is left lying around the classroom.

Ensure the case does not restrict the iPad camera lenses.

The sheer variety of iPad cases on the market today should ensure that every child will find one to reflect their own personality and help them to instantly recognise their own iPad in the classroom. 

Parents, please remember that you don't have to spend much for an adequate iPad case. All the cases we use for school devices cost between $10 and $20 each on eBay.

Which iPad? Decisions, decisions...

For school purposes, as long as your iPad has the following, then it will be adequate to serve as your child's 1 to 1 device:

• a working camera
• a full-sized screen
• no sim inserted (or wi-fi only model), and 
• a battery that will last through a school day

However,  some parents with children already in the program are offering feedback about the iPad's storage capacity that may influence your purchasing decisions...

The 16GB iPad model has limited storage capacity. Although it is sufficient for the school projects that your child may be working on in any given week, there will be little room to 'play with'. This could be a good thing in that it reinforces the importance of good file management and vigilance in culling of unnecessary photos and videos. You may also see it as an advantage that your child will have no space for additional games and recreational apps. But please keep in mind that a 16GB iPad will be almost full once all the school apps are installed. If you are purchasing a new iPad for your child, you may find the 32GB models (and above) will be viable for longer. Even the basic operating system (before any apps are installed) takes several gigabytes of space and with each update, iOS seems to grow.

The need for "free space"

Regardless of storage capacity, as a general rule, an iPad needs 10% free space to function efficiently. To illustrate, if you have a 32GB model, you'll need to keep the available free space above 3.2GB. If you have a 64GB version, you'll need at least 6.4GB free memory. I regularly see children who come to me with a "broken" iPad, which won't open an app they need to use or which freezes in the middle of a task. Often they won't be able to install an update or save a file... all because they have an over-full device.

How do I check usage?

Open the Settings app.

Tap General. Scroll down and tap Usage.

Under STORAGE you will see how much space is Available. This number should represent 10% of the total storage capacity of the iPad. If it is less than that you need to remove some of the contents.

Tap Manage Storage to see which apps need to be trimmed or deleted. This view lists all apps in decreasing order of size.

In the screenshot above you can see the Photos & Camera app is the main culprit, using 3.5GB of storage. This iPad owner needs to offload most of the contents of the Photos & Camera app. Videos take up more space than still photos so deleting the videos (from the Photos app) should restore sufficient free space.

You can also delete apps from this view (above). Tap an app you can do without and tap Delete App.

This will delete the app from the device but as it is still associated with the Apple ID, you can download it again (at no extra charge) at a later time, or on up to 5 different devices, as long as you are signed in with this Apple ID.

I hope this information has been helpful. If you are subscribed by email, you will receive all future posts via email. Depending on your email settings, you may need to "allow photos" to view any images in the posts. Alternatively, you can click the link and visit the blog in your browser.

Welcome to Launch Pad

Welcome, Year 3 Parents, to the launch of the 

2016 Contemporary Learning Program 

at St Catherine's!

Thank you for visiting the iPad "Launch Pad". This is the place where you will receive the latest news and information as we prepare for 1 to 1 iPads in 2016. Please complete the 'Subscribe by Email' field (upper right) to stay up to date. Once you subscribe, all future posts will go straight to your inbox. 

Using a blog means we can easily provide you with links and online resources, without you having to log in or type out long URLs. When you see a green link in a post (that underlines when you mouse over it), click it for further information. You will also find a second page called "Tips, Tricks and Troubleshoots" (see the tabs under the header) that you may wish to visit if you have never used an iPad before. Don't worry about your children - they've probably already worked out most of it!

All forms and documents that you may need are accessible on the St. Catherine's Parent Portal. For example, if you're interested in hiring an iPad from the school, you will find the iPad Hire Agreement form there with all terms and conditions and cost information. You will also see the Free Apps list, updated for 2016. Some of the documents have yet to be updated for the 2016 program. We'll let you know as the various resources are ready.

Thanks to all those who came along to the information night on Monday 3rd August in the Nano Nagle Centre. A followup letter was emailed to all Year 3 parents on Wednesday afternoon. If you did not receive that mail, please contact the school office to update your email contact details. 

There will be no more hard copies of letters and information sent home and we don't want you to miss any important updates and information. As parents contact us with questions or issues that are not covered in the FAQs or Handbooks, we can address those here for everyone. Feel free to use the Comments below to offer advice for others or field questions from this wonderful community.

We're looking forward to working with you towards another great year of engaging, relevant and innovative learning for your children, with iPads at St Catherine's!

We Have Lift Off

Hi to all our wonderful 2014 Subscribers,

The Launch Pad team is packing up and moving out... It's taken us 4 weeks but we finally have all students on board with everything they need. Thank you parents for your tireless efforts in helping your children prepare for learning with iPads at school. Now that they're all launched and flying, you can safely unsubscribe from this blog (see the Unsubscribe link in the tiny print below?) and head off to your respective Year level blogs:

Year 4 Padwise 

Year 5 Padwise

Year 6 Padwise 

We promise not to spam you! Posts will probably only be once a fortnight but you'll see cool tips, app recommendations and classroom news from the students so it will be worth your while subscribing again.

All the best for a fun (and safe!) year of digital learning...