Problem Solving Tips & Basics

Just like anything in life, obstacles appear from time to time when you are using technology. We will do our best to help you find strategies to quickly get around it, since we know that your time in the classroom is valuable.

 

 
 

My iPad is frozen

A common problem with any device, you try to do something, anything, on your iPad and nothing happens. The screen shows you something, but it won't react to any touch or button push. Good news, the fix for this is relatively easy! You just need to hard reset your device. To do this, simply follow these instructions:

1.  Place your fingers on the home button and the power button.

2. Next, press both buttons at the same time and hold them in for 5-10 seconds. At that point the screen should change from the frozen picture to a black screen.

3. Wait around 10 - 20 seconds, then try powering the iPad back on using the power button at the top of the iPad.

My app won't access the camera roll

This can happen to students all the time, and often causes panic for both them and you. Don't worry though, there is a fix and once you get the hang of it this problem will never faze you again! Let's say that you are using an, in this case maybe Book Creator, and your students are attempting to put a picture into their book to show what they are talking about. However, when they try it says This app does not have access to your photos or videos. Then it tells you to enable access in Privacy Settings, as if it were that simple! Well follow the steps below and you will solve this problem every time.

1. First exit out of the app (Book Creator in this case) and go to the home screen.

2. Next, click the settings app button, the one that has a gear wheel for a logo.

3. Once in the settings, use the left menu to scroll down to the app you are using (in this case, Book Creator).

4. Click on the app you are using, and on the right side screen it should have a section titled Allow Book Creator to Access. Under that section there will be different iPad peripherals to access such as microphone, camera, and photos. You'll want to make sure that the photos option is checked on, which means the button is all the way to the right and should be showing green.

5. Once that is done you can go back to your app and you should be able to access your camera roll through the app.

App won't open when clicked on (iPad)

Sometimes when you are trying to open an app it starts to open but then quickly closes and leaves you back at the homescreen again. When this happens there are a few quick tricks to try:

  1. Try double-clicking the home button so you can view all open apps. Then swipe up on the app you are trying to open, which in effect quits it completely.

  2. If that doesn't work, check to see if your app is updated. Go to your App store, and then click updates from the bottom menu. If it is on the list to be updated, go ahead and update it. Then follow step one again.

  3. Still stuck? At this point you can try to hard reset your iPad. Put one finger on the home button, and one finger on the power button at the top. Go ahead and press them, and be sure to not let go! After holding the buttons for several seconds the iPad should turn off. Wait a few more seconds, then press the power button to turn it back on.

  4. If none of those quick options work, it is always best to delete the app and then re-download it (Although be warned, if you do this you will lose any work that is only saved to that app). To do this, hold your finger on the app until it becomes all wiggly and an X appears in the top left corner. Click the X to delete the app, and then press Delete on the pop-up window. Next, click the home button to put your apps back to normal. Then click on the App store button, and click the updates section from the bottom menu. At the top of the updates screen there should be an option titled "Purchased." Click this, and scroll down to find the app you just deleted. Once you have found your app, click the cloud button that has an arrow pointing down. This button signifies that you will download the app from the cloud! Then go back to home and try the app after it downloads.

I can't Airplay from my iPad to my Apple TV

This can happen from time to time, and can be caused by many different reasons. Here are a few tips to check that can often find you a quick solution!

 

I'm Clicking the Home Button, but Nothing is Happening

This could be do to a couple of issues. Your iPad could be frozen, it could just be a glitch, or it might be due to common wear and tear after so much usage. Here are a few tips to try to see what is going on:

  1.  First, touch the iPad screen to see if apps are still working. If nothing happens, then the whole iPad is frozen, not just the home button. In this case, a hard reset should do the trick. Simply hold down the home and power buttons at the same time for around ten seconds and the screen should go black. Then, wait 30 seconds and turn it back on using the power button.

  2. If you touched the iPad screen and everything else is still working as normal, you can try simply turning the iPad off by holding the power button for a few seconds. Then you can turn it back on and see if the home button is working again.

  3. If the home button continues to not work, even after resetting the iPad, you can try this quick tip which seems to work on occasion. Position your iPad so that it is in portrait mode, then press and hold the home button. Next. while still holding the home button turn the iPad so that the screen rotates to landscape view. Then, while still holding the home button, rotate the iPad back to portrait view.

  4. You've tried all of the above, so what now? Well it may just be that wear and tear has gotten the best of your iPad's home button. In this case you could take it in and have it repaired by the apple store. If you don't want to take it in, there is a feature on the iPad that will allow you to create a digital version of the home button. To access this, you will need to go to settings.

Students Are Having Log In Issues

Using all of these apps and programs often means that students will need to log into sites and apps multiple times a week. This can be challenging for 4th and 5th graders, let alone our students in first grade and kindergarten. First of all here are a couple of tips when it comes to student logins, then we will get to the problem solving!

Tips:

1. Have student login usernames and passwords in multiple places and forms. You can give students their information on an index card, but it would also be a could idea for you to keep cheat sheets with all of their info. That way you can quickly find what you need at a glance.

2. Try to make their usernames as consistent as possible. Lots of sites give you usernames to start, but in your teacher settings menu you are usually allowed to change them. Relating it to their name, a nickname, or student number is often the best way to make easy usernames. The same goes for passwords. Depending on how old your class is, you could also go with super easy passwords such as "school name" followed by student number, or Room19 followed by their student number.

3. Practice, practice, practice. Spending time in the beginning of the year logging in as a class is always a good idea. That way as issues crop up you can talk to the class about common login issues such as misspellings, forgetting the @ part of a username if it is based on an e-mail, and using the shift key to access capital letters for passwords.

Problem Solving:

  1. Okay, so this might seem obvious but the first step you should take is to check what the students have typed. Just like us, they often assume they are typing everything correctly and don't see the missing or added letter that is messing up their login. Also, double-check that the caps lock button hasn't been activated, as that can definitely affect a student's login. Going over their username letter by letter can solve the problem most of the time.

  2. If it is not the username, then it might be a miss typed password. This is trickier for students to catch because sites and apps often hide the letters and numbers students are typing in the password box. Therefore, it is a good idea to type the password again very, very slowly. As in one letter at a time. You might feel like a snail, but you'll look like a hero if it works! (Side note, sometimes students try several times before you get there and end up locking themselves out of the login screen. This can usually be reset by closing the application or program and then reopening it. Then you should be able to type in the username and password correctly.)

  3.  If you've checked both the username and password and they seem correct, then it is time to turn to different answers. One quick one would be to use your cheat sheet to make sure that you have been using the correct username and password for that specific app. Sometimes students will forget and try to use their login info from one program in another, when they might have two separate usernames or passwords.

  4. After double-checking the cheat sheet, your next quick option is to close out and quit the application or program. Then, open it again and see if you can log in. If not, you can also try restarting the whole device.

  5. If none of these things work there may be an issue with your settings, such as with something called "cookies." We will post more in a different column on how to address this issue if it comes to it.

 

My Device Runs Out of Battery Too Fast

Occasionally a student might be using a device for the day and could see its battery life drop drastically in only an hour or so. This is not normal, and could be caused by a couple of things. The first thing you will want to check is if the charger is actually working. It sounds silly, but we all plug things in and just assume they are working, even though that may not be the case. See if it is properly plugged in, then test it with multiple devices. When plugged in, each device should make a sound or have a visual cue in the top or bottom corner showing it is charging.
Once that is checked, you next want to see how many Apps or programs are running. Oftentimes devices could be running programs from earlier that you may not notice as you use the program you are currently working with. If you are using an iPad, double-click the home button to see which Apps are open. From there, you can swipe your finger up on each App to fully quit it. If you are using a computer or Chromebook, first check and see how many tabs and windows you have open in your internet browser. Sometimes we have many windows or tabs running at once, which can be very taxing on your device. After that, check to see if you have other programs open such as games, movie editing software, or photo programs. These programs can also take a lot of power from your device very quickly if it is not plugged in.
If you have done the above.step and the device is still losing power quickly, there is a good chance that the battery is old. Batteries in devices, just like in cars, eventually run out of their ability to perform the chemical process that creates the energy we use. If this is the case, your district’s IT department should be able to replace the battery to get the device back to normal.

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