Configurator (supervision set up) & VPP (Australia)

Step 1: Set up VPP account via Apple http://www.apple.com/au/education/volume-purchase-program/ this account needs to be set up using an email account which isn’t already assigned to an iTunes account.

Step 2: Once VPP is established supervisor accounts can be set up. These accounts will enable others to purchase apps in VPP under the established VPP account.

Step 3: Purchase apps in the VPP Store. Available options for purchase seems to be limited to credit card at this stage. ClickPay is an option, but doesn’t seem to work (or didn’t when I tried the link). Apparently vouchers aren’t available in Australia yet. You can’t use normal iTunes gift cards. ***additional – make sure to get iPad apps not iPhone apps.

Step 4: Set up or use an existing normal iTunes account to download 1 copy of the purchased app (use one of the VPP codes from the VPP spreadsheet for the purchase / download). Download whatever apps you need in this account including free apps.
***additional for new groups it may be necessary to create new iTune libraries. The apps need to be downloaded into the new library – if you use a library belonging to a different account apps will remain linked to the other iTunes account. To make a new iTunes library quit iTunes click option key and double click iTunes.
*****additional – the associated iTunes account needs to be authorised with that computer (Configurator should be closed when doing this.)

Step 5: In Configurator set up supervision settings for a new group. Choose supervision to on etc in main screen and make sure you have selected the profile that you want applied.

Step 5: Drag purchased apps from the regular iTunes account to the apps area of Configurator (see below).

Step 6: Import VPP codes into the paid apps in the Configurator. To do this see below.

Step 7: Use charging / synchronisation cart to plug in the iPads – up to 30 at once. The connected iPads can be seen. On the bottom click apply. The progress of the application to each iPad can be seen. When this is completed iPads can be unplugged.

Step 8: When adding extra apps simply add to the group under the profile and then refresh the plugged in group of iPads. A good idea to make sure apps are up to date in the iTunes account. They can be dragged on mass into the Configurator they will replace the existing copies in the Configurator.

Step 9: To enable iPads to download updates or add other free apps each iPad can be connected to the iTunes account that was used to install the apps.

As far as I can tell refreshing after adding new apps doesn’t erase any content on individual iPads. Apparently in Configurator preferences it is possible to select or deselect preserve data.

The Configurator is a brilliant way to set up iPads for large groups of students and VPP makes it affordable.

A colleague from another School added this commentary (see below) – thanks Sam

If you add all of your students and assign the devices, the student will be able to customise the iPad and save any files. When you book the iPad back in it backs up the iPads settings under that users folder, and restores the backup when you check it back out to them. Great if you have less iPads than you do students. You can use this to also preload a file onto the iPad, say a pages file that the students can work on. Then when the students have done their work you can plug in the iPads and use Configurator to save all of the students files to a folder, it will automatically rename the files to include the students name.

There are a few options under Apple Configurator >; Preferences if you want to clear the iPad each time it is plugged in, and show the device name or students name that the iPad is checked out to on the screen.