A Guide to Implementing Apple iPads in Education

There are several key pieces to a successful education iPad deployment. This guide is a good starting point towards understanding how the pieces come together.

Mobile Device Management (MDM)

An MDM unlocks the real potential of iPads in education. There are hundreds of MDM vendors, in Australia the most common one is Jamf Pro (formerly Casper Suite). Jamf have a great track record for supporting new features as they come out and offer substantial discounts to educational institutes.

All reliable MDMs are subscription based, where you pay X amount per month/year per iPad.

An MDM will allow for:

• wireless deployment of apps and settings to iPads, no more syncing with iTunes/Apple Configurator or manually downloading onto each device.
• keeping an inventory of your iPads.
• the features discussed below; Device Enrolment Programme, Volume Purchase Programme and Apple School Manager.

Device Enrolment Programme (DEP)

Once a school is enrolled for DEP, new iPads purchased from an Apple Authorised Reseller are registered with the schools DEP account. iPads registered with DEP will automatically talk to the schools MDM (e.g. Jamf Pro) and automate the set up of the iPad, I.T. never needs to see the device.

Volume Purchase Programme (VPP)

VPP allows for the bulk purchase of app licenses and many apps offer a 50% discount when purchasing quantities of twenty or more at a time.

Once a purchase in the VPP portal has been made, the app licenses will appear in your MDM and you can select the devices you wish to deploy that app to.

Credit can be added to a VPP account either via credit card or by purchase order.

Apple School Manager (ASM)

Apple School Manager is a teacher's dream - it allows them to remotely view, lock and control iPads in the classroom. Apple has a 3 minute video demonstrating the functionality of the Classroom app (part of ASM).

Historically iPads have always been a single user device, so when they are shared (often the case in schools) this can cause problems especially if students delete other students work. With ASM, iPads gain security for shared use as each student is given their own unique account and passcode, keeping their work safe.

Their work is also synchronised with iCloud allowing them to pick up any school iPad, log in and have their previous work appear on that iPad.

Registering a school for DEP, VPP and ASM is free and can be completed here.

Apple Caching Service

With lots of apps, updates and iCloud data being downloaded from the Internet it is paramount to have a Mac mini set up with macOS Server and the Caching Service. The Caching Service reduces the amount of data downloaded over the Internet connection and speeds up delivery of repeat data.

How it works

The first time an app is downloaded from the Internet, during that initial download it is cached on the Mac mini. If another device requests the same update it doesn’t need to download it from the Internet again, instead it is rapidly downloaded from the local Mac mini.

Adding HomeKit Support to LIFX Light Bulbs

In the smart light market the two major players are Philips Hue and LIFX. Around the time HomeKit was first released, Philips Hue offered a new hardware bridge to allow customers to control their Philips Hue bulbs with Siri. LIFX on the other hand has been telling customers that HomeKit support is on its way, but has yet to deliver.

With the announcement of iOS 10's Home app I was over waiting and started looking into ways to make LIFX bulbs HomeKit compatible. That's when I came across Homebridge, a community developed solution that acts as a bridge for non-HomeKit compliant devices, LIFX light bulbs being one of them.

I have put together this guide for other LIFX bulb users eager to take advantage of HomeKit.

In this guide I run Homebridge on a Mac mini, however you should be able to get this working on a PC or even a Raspberry Pi. Also, to be useful the machine running Homebridge will need to always be on.

Steps

Homebridge requires Node.js, download and install it.

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Now install Homebridge, open Terminal (Utilities > Terminal) and type:

sudo npm install -g --unsafe-perm homebridge 

If prompted, install Git and run the above command again.

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Next install David Parry’s LIFX LAN Homebridge plugin:

sudo npm install -g homebridge-lifx-lan 

Download my LIFX ready Homebridge configuration file:

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Error-freeIT/Homebridge-Configuration/master/lifx-config.json --create-dirs -o ~/.homebridge/config.json 

Start Homebridge by simply typing:

homebridge

Open the Home app on your iOS device, tap Get Started > Add Accessory > Homebridge > Add Anyway > Enter Code Manually > 053-73-874

The rest of the process is just tapping Next and configuring your rooms and scenes. If you're new to HomeKit I recommend reading Apple's article on the Home app.

As long as your LIFX lights are switched on you should see them in the Home app.

Once the novelty of telling Siri to control your lights starts to wear off, there's one more bit to make Homebridge automatically startup in the background. First we need to stop the current instance of Homebridge from running by pressing control + C. Then paste the following two commands into Terminal:

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Error-freeIT/Homebridge-Configuration/master/com.github.homebridge.plist --create-dirs -o ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.github.homebridge.plist

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.github.homebridge.plist  

That's it! Enjoy your fancy HomeKit enabled LIFX lighting!

Apple Configurator 2 Workarounds

At the moment Apple Configurator 2 has a Mac App Store customer rating average of 1.5 out of 5 stars. I find it overall better than its predecessor, but I understand the poor rating and have put this post together to help others moving to Apple Configurator 2.

For me the biggest change between Apple Configurator 1 and 2 is the shift in app licensing. Buying a new app with Apple Configurator 1 involved downloading a spreadsheet of redemption codes from the Volume Purchase Program portal. Then you would use the first redemption code to download the app with iTunes. Then import that app’s .ipa file into Apple Configurator, re-download the spreadsheet of redemption codes (now with the first code marked as redeemed) and finally import the spreadsheet into Apple Configurator.

Thankfully Apple Configurator 2 uses managed distribution instead of redemption codes, cutting out the cumbersome process above. With managed distribution Apple track which devices/Apple IDs are assigned apps and give the organisation the ability to revoke and reissue app licenses. Managed distribution is also the licensing method used by all Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions, making the eventual transition from Apple Configurator to a MDM solution much smoother.

Obtaining Free iLife & iWork Apps

If you are migrating from Apple Configurator 1 you will need to reapply for new managed distribution licenses of Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie and GarageBand. This requires uploading proof of purchase with a list of eligible iPad serial numbers here.

Migrating Your Paid Apps

Apple have created an online form for migrating your paid apps to managed distribution. Simply fill out the form here, selecting ‘Migrate from redemption codes to managed distribution’ from the dropdown list. Apple will look at your purchase history and convert all your previously purchased apps to managed distribution.

Unexpected Behaviour

Issue: Apps aren’t being cached by Apple Configurator 2. 
Workaround: Setup another Mac on your network with OS X Server and the Caching service enabled.

Issue: Failing iOS firmware downloads on slow or unstable Internet connections.
Workaround: Manually download the firmware files (.ipsw) and copy them into Apple Configurator’s firmware directory.

To speed up the download of firmware I use https://ipsw.me to find my device's firmware URL and then download it with the DownloadThemAll! Firefox plugin.

Once downloaded copy the firmware file into place; In Finder click Go > Go to Folder… and paste:

~/Library/Group Containers/K36BKF7T3D.group.com.apple.configurator/Library/Caches/Firmware/

Issue: I made a change to a profile that was part of a blueprint. After applying the blueprint to a new iPad I noticed the profile installed was an older revision.
Workaround: If you edit a profile you will need to remove and re-add it to your blueprints. I find it odd that it does not reference the location of the profile selected.

Issue: I tried installing a few apps at once to a cart of iPads, received the error "An unexpected error has occurred with these iPads. The operation couldn't be completed. Operation not permitted [NSPOSIXErrorDomain - 0x1 (1)]" and ended up with some apps grayed out on the home screen. 
Workaround: This seems to be a known bug as reported here. Try installing the troubled apps individually. Reinstalling the app will give you the option to skip or overwrite the app and will not waste any additional licenses.

Issue: My blueprint has both a lock screen and home screen set, but only the lock screen wallpaper applied.
Workaround: After applying the blueprint select Actions > Modify > Wallpapers…

Issue: The progress bar seems to be stuck.
Workaround: Click Window > Activity to see more detail.

Issue: The Photos app keeps opening.
Workaround: [Update 23/03/16]: Erik Gomez has reported Apple Configurator 2.2 in OS X 10.11.4 no longer does this and the workaround is no longer required. As discovered here you can stop Photos from reopening with the following Terminal command:

defaults -currentHost write com.apple.ImageCapture disableHotPlug -bool YES

Issue: Deleting an app directly on the iPad does not revoke the app license and when connected Apple Configurator 2 still detects the app as installed.
Workaround: Properly remove the app and revoke the license in Apple Configurator 2 by selecting Actions > Remove > Apps…

Issue: Apps are still functional on devices after the license has been revoked. If you install an app with Apple Configurator 2, then go to Window > VPP Assignments and revoke the license, the app remains functional on the devices and the license is returned to the VPP account.
Workaround: No workaround, just ignore it. What should happen: once the license is revoked it should prompt the device owner to purchase a copy of that app.

Lastly, if you have any Apple Configurator 2 tips please share them in the comments.