Tag Archives: google play

Framework Supplier Guidance: Purchase of Apps

XMA was awarded the Scottish Government National Framework Agreement for Notebook and Tablet Devices Education Lot in March 2013. The framework enables schools, colleges and universities in Scotland to purchase from a range of Android, Apple iOS and Microsoft Windows mobile devices.

Framework Supplier

With these modern operating systems the method for purchasing applications and licensing is quite different from the method you may be familiar with for traditional Windows or Mac computers. In the past you would probably have purchased software applications from a computer reseller or retail shop on some sort of removable media like a DVD, CD or a floppy disk. This would have an associated license agreement (and often a license key or serial number) that would allow you to install the application on a single computer or across multiple computers. Tablet devices offered on the national framework all come with an application store (or app store) built-in to the device’s operating system. This is the primary (and with Apple devices, the only) method for purchasing, downloading and installing applications. These application stores are as follows:

Android
Devices


Apple
IOS Devices


Microsoft
Windows Devices


ASUS Nexus 7, Galaxy Note 10.1
iPad mini, iPad
Dell Latitude 10

Google Play

App Store

Windows Store

All three stores offer free and paid applications and require you to sign up for an account to download either. These accounts can often be used to purchase and download other types of media such as music, movies and digital books and to access other services offered by the store’s vendor. These accounts are as follows:

Google Play

Google Account (with Google Wallet for paid apps)

App Store

Apple ID

Windows Store

Microsoft Account

Each store will prompt the user to setup an account or log in to an existing account when you first try to download an application. When downloading free applications you will be required to enter contact details but payment details will not be required. More information on each vendor’s specific application store can be found on their websites as follows:

Google Play

App Store

Windows Store

When creating an account and downloading applications from these three stores you are essentially entering into a legal agreement with the store vendor or application developer that outlines the use of the application. This agreement will cover the use of applications on multiple devices (similar to licenses that you would have purchased with traditional software as noted above).

While all of these stores allow you to re-download purchased applications on other devices that use the same account, each store (and in the case of Google Play and Windows Store, each application) will offer different terms for the use of applications on multiple devices. An outline of these is noted below but it is important that you read and understand the terms and conditions that you agree to when creating an account and when downloading an application. Also note that the terms of use are often different for institutions than for individuals.

Google Play

Defined by app developer

App Store

App licensed for use on one device only

Windows Store

Defined by app developer

Having an understanding of how apps are licensed on the device platform you are using will help define your strategy for account creation. For example, if the applications you are purchasing from Google Play are licensed for use on an unlimited number of devices, it would make sense to use the same Google Account across multiple devices. Given that the App Store requires one app per device it would make sense to create an Apple ID for each user. This in turn raises issues around purchase method and application deployment.

For paid applications you must have a suitable payment method associated with your application store account. Supported payment methods differ from store to store but all support debit and credit cards. It is unlikely that an institution would want to allow learners access to an account that is associated with a debit or credit card.

Google Play

Credit/Debit card (via Google Wallet) Gift/Pre-paid cards

App Store

Credit/Debit card Gift/Pre-paid cards

Windows Store

Credit/Debit card Gift/Pre-paid cards

As an alternative to the App Store, Apple offers a method of purchasing application redemption codes in bulk with their Volume Purchase Programme for Education. These redemption codes can be distributed to users and allow them to download paid apps without requiring a payment method associated with their Apple ID. The institution manages purchase through a central portal which requires a credit or debit card but these details are not exposed to end users. The programme also offers a 50 percent discount on many apps when purchasing 20 or more copies. Details of the programme are available on the Apple website.

Microsoft does not limit installation of applications to the Windows Store. As such it is still possible to purchase applications and licensing direct from computer resellers or developers. Consider how the application installation files will be delivered, as tablet devices do not have built-in CD or DVD drives. Preferably, application installation files should be provided electronically for download or installed to the device as part of an image.

Look out for a future blog post on application deployment and how this can be managed as you introduce more tablet devices to your institution.

East Lothian Council: Chromebook pilot overview

Preston Lodge HS: Chromebooks embedded in learning
Preston Lodge HS: Chromebooks embedded in learning

Preston Lodge High School strives to develop skills for learning, life and work. Twenty Chromebooks, on an unfiltered network, were introduced to the science department at Preston Lodge High School in December 2011. An unfiltered network was installed as it was not possible to use a device which was not on a Windows operating system on the school’s existing wireless network.

The Chromebook looks like a notebook but works instantly, going straight to the internet for everything, creating a ‘window’ in. Practitioners shared instances of waiting 25 minutes, or longer, for laptops to load up, after which learners were still not logged in. This frustration and ‘dead time’ coupled with limited reliability meant that technology was not embedded in learning. The Chromebooks are ensuring reliable access to technology and this has increased confidence. They are shared devices which automatically update and improve. They have an unusually long battery life of eight hours continuous use, made possile by absence of a traditional motorised disk drive. They can be closed and opened during classes without causing undue delays restarting. This also helps save battery life. The devices are in continuous use, and do not need to be ‘topped up’ with charge during the day. This has allowed a simple trolley to be used, without power supplies. Practitioners noted that the devices had improved considerably during the 11 months in which they had been in the school.

Chromebooks are available for use as and when required in the science department. This reliable availability has enabled practitioners to plan to use Google Apps for Education and general Internet tools for purposeful learning. Practitioners have learned through experience that learning activities should not be ‘Chromebook centric’, learners do not always respond well to being directed to use the devices but instead prefer the opportunity to access them as and when required.

Preston Lodge HS: Chromebook overview David Gilmour of East Lothian Council gives an overview of the Chromebook pilot

Through eduBuzz.org, East Lothian’s on-line learning community, every learner has an eduBuzz Google Apps account and increasing numbers are familiar with logging into Google Apps. This made the introduction of the Chromebook a sensible and quite seamless process as learners log in using their edubuzz.org Google Apps account, their instance of the Chrome browser appears, their Google Apps and Chrome Web Apps appear, and workflow continues.

Forrester HS: Managing the Android devices and Google Marketplace

Forrester HS: Managing Android and Google Marketplace
Forrester HS is using free Android apps

The management of the Android devices and the apps that could be installed on them are fundamental to the success of any device pilot. The team at Forrester HS gave this great consideration in view of how it could be done as effectively as possible but in such a way that it would enhance the learning culture of the school. Mark Cunningham (class teacher) explained that, rather than put in place a controlled environment that the school managed, they left it much more open so that learners were able to download apps that they were requested to by their teachers as well as ones that the learners themselves felt were useful for their learning. The school has found this approach to be reasonably successful up to now and the fact that they have good bandwidth means that if 20 pupils are asked to download an app for a lesson at the same time then they can.

Mr Cunningham explained that all apps that they were using were free from the Google and that there had been no need for them to access any of the paid-for apps. He did however point out that at this stage of the pilot there was as yet still  no volume purchasing option for Android.

Forrester HS: Apps management Mr Cunnigham (Class Teacher) discusses managing Android apps

In relation to the management of the devices, Mr Cunningham explained that the school had insurance in place as well as a two-year warranty. There had been a small number of instances where devices had been damaged and also where issues with devices had led to them being returned under warranty to be repaired. It was stressed that any necessary repairs were carried out satisfactorily by the manufacturer but when a device was away being repaired it led to challenges for the learning and teaching in a classroom that required access to a personal device. Mr Cunningham suggested that, if budget allowed,  a small bank of school-owned machines could be used to temporarily replace any device that was out of commission due to damage or warranty repair.

Forrester HS: Managing the devices Mr Cunningham (Class Teacher) discusses how the school has managed the Android devices