Personalized Learning Initiative Updates

Yellow Jacket LogoThomas Jefferson Digital Learning Initiative Updates: School Closure Support

Technology Support During School Closures

APS: Learning at Home

The Thomas Jefferson staff worked very hard to prepare students with technology support before school closed.  Damaged iPads were replaced as quickly as possible and many WiFi hotspots were delivered to students who had expressed need for access at home.  Teachers also helped students prepare their Canvas course and iPad settings to ensure, to the best of our ability, continued instructional opportunities while schools are closed.  Despite our best efforts to communicate the need to correctly configure iPads while here at school, we understand that there may be some issues that interrupt Internet connection at home mostly due to Global Protect, the county’s content filtering application.  If you are experiencing issues connecting to home WiFi, here are possible troubleshooting tips provided by Information Services that must be done on the APS network (you might be able access this network from a school parking lot):

GlobalProtect Setup and Troubleshooting Initial Setup (As Written and Provided by Information Services)  These steps need to be done on an APS network.  You can even try accessing an APS network from a school parking lot.  

  1. Enroll the device
  2. Open the Settings app
    • Go to General > VPN > GlobalProtect
    • Click the info icon (i)
    • Set “Connect on Demand” to “Off”
  3. Click Home button
  4. Open the GlobalProtect app
    • Click connect and sign in.The app will turn blue and say “Internal” at the bottom of the screen because the iPad is connected to the APS network.
    • If you aren’t prompted to sign in, or the app doesn’t turn blue, force quite the GlobalProtect app and try again (double click the Home button and swipe up on the GlobalProtect app).
  5. Go back to the Settings app
    • Go to General > VPN > GlobalProtect
    • Click the info icon (i)
    • Set “Connect on Demand” to “On”The GlobalProtect app will automatically disconnect, but will reconnect when not conected to an “Internal” Network.

General Troubleshooting Steps

For General Issues Away From School

  1. Ensure the iPad is connected to wifi
  2. Open the GlobalProtect app and click connect
    • If the app connects successfully, check the VPN settings in the Settings App:
      1. Open the Settings app
      2. Go to General > VPN > GlobalProtect
      3. Click the info icon (i)
      4. Ensure “Connect on Demand” is set to “On”This will ensure that GlobalProtect will connect automatically in the future.
    • If the app doesn’t connect:
      • Force quite the GlobalProtect app (double click the Home button and swipe up on the GlobalProtect app) and try again.
      • If that doesn’t fix the issue, reboot the iPad and try again.

Troubleshooting at School

If you are in an APS building, and an iPad is running iOS 12 and the student is not signed into GlobalProtect, and GlobalProtect is not working, due to a know issue (details below) you have to follow these specific steps:

  1. Open the Settings app
    • Go to General > VPN > GlobalProtect
    • Click the info icon (i)
    • Set “Connect on Demand” to “Off”
  2. Reboot the iPad
  3. Open the GlobalProtect app
    • Click connect and sign inThe app will turn blue and say “Internal” at the bottom of the screen because the iPad is connected to the APS network.
    • If you aren’t prompted to sign in, or the app doesn’t turn blue, force quite the GlobalProtect app and try again (double click the Home button and swipe up on the GlobalProtect app).
  4. Go back to the Settings app
    • Go to General > VPN > GlobalProtect
    • Click the info icon (i)
    • Set “Connect on Demand” to “On”The GlobalProtect app will automatically disconnect, but will reconnect when not conected to an “Internal” Network.

Known Issue Affecting iOS 12

Issue: GlobalProtect can become unresponsive on iPads running iOS 12.Cause: Due to the way iOS 12 handles VPN settings, certain actions while connected to the school’s network can cause GlobalProtect to crash in the background. This crash does not effect the iPad’s network connectivity at school and is therefore not evident until the iPad is taken home.Workaround: Reboot the iPad. This issue can not reoccur until the iPad is reconnected to the school’s network.Solution: Update to the latest available version of iOS 13.

Other Troubleshooting Tips:

Physical Damage

Throughout the school year, students should communicate with their TA teacher if they are experiencing a physical issue with their device to initiate the repair process.  If you have a student who has physically damaged or disabled their iPad while schools are closed, they will need to let their TA teacher know when school reopens.

Use of Other Devices

Although the hope is to have students benefit from the APS issued iPad, students are able to access all content on any other type of device, if available, including family computer, tablet, or phone.  Student work does not have to depend on the iPad if other options are available.

Internet Availability

Effective Monday, Comcast Internet Essentials is free for the next 60 days for new customers that qualify. More info here: https://www.internetessentials.com/covid19

Instructional Questions

If you have specific questions pertaining to content made available through Canvas, please contact the specific teacher.  Teachers will be able to answer questions pertaining to their instructional practices.

Canvas Support for Students

Students should use MyAccess to get to their instructional applications including Canvas.  Again this site can be reached on any type of device if the APS issued iPad is not working for the student.

Technology Contact

Please feel free to email the Thomas Jefferson ITC if you have technology questions.  As you can imagine, it may be very difficult to solve specific problems remotely without physical access to the device.  We completely understand any frustration you may have when it comes to technology, and we very much appreciate your patience at this time.

March 2020

GlobalProtect Setup and Troubleshooting Initial Setup

  1. Enroll the device
  2. Open the Settings app
    • Go to General > VPN > GlobalProtect
    • Click the info icon (i)
    • Set “Connect on Demand” to “Off”
  3. Click Home button
  4. Open the GlobalProtect app
    • Click connect and sign in.The app will turn blue and say “Internal” at the bottom of the screen because the iPad is connected to the APS network.
    • If you aren’t prompted to sign in, or the app doesn’t turn blue, force quite the GlobalProtect app and try again (double click the Home button and swipe up on the GlobalProtect app).
  5. Go back to the Settings app
    • Go to General > VPN > GlobalProtect
    • Click the info icon (i)
    • Set “Connect on Demand” to “On”The GlobalProtect app will automatically disconnect, but will reconnect when not conected to an “Internal” Network.

General Troubleshooting Steps

For General Issues Away From School

  1. Ensure the iPad is connected to wifi
  2. Open the GlobalProtect app and click connect
    • If the app connects successfully, check the VPN settings in the Settings App:
      1. Open the Settings app
      2. Go to General > VPN > GlobalProtect
      3. Click the info icon (i)
      4. Ensure “Connect on Demand” is set to “On”This will ensure that GlobalProtect will connect automatically in the future.
    • If the app doesn’t connect:
      • Force quite the GlobalProtect app (double click the Home button and swipe up on the GlobalProtect app) and try again.
      • If that doesn’t fix the issue, reboot the iPad and try again.

Troubleshooting at School

If you are in an APS building, and an iPad is running iOS 12 and the student is not signed into GlobalProtect, and GlobalProtect is not working, due to a know issue (details below) you have to follow these specific steps:

  1. Open the Settings app
    • Go to General > VPN > GlobalProtect
    • Click the info icon (i)
    • Set “Connect on Demand” to “Off”
  2. Reboot the iPad
  3. Open the GlobalProtect app
    • Click connect and sign inThe app will turn blue and say “Internal” at the bottom of the screen because the iPad is connected to the APS network.
    • If you aren’t prompted to sign in, or the app doesn’t turn blue, force quite the GlobalProtect app and try again (double click the Home button and swipe up on the GlobalProtect app).
  4. Go back to the Settings app
    • Go to General > VPN > GlobalProtect
    • Click the info icon (i)
    • Set “Connect on Demand” to “On”The GlobalProtect app will automatically disconnect, but will reconnect when not conected to an “Internal” Network.

Known Issue Affecting iOS 12

Issue: GlobalProtect can become unresponsive on iPads running iOS 12.Cause: Due to the way iOS 12 handles VPN settings, certain actions while connected to the school’s network can cause GlobalProtect to crash in the background. This crash does not effect the iPad’s network connectivity at school and is therefore not evident until the iPad is taken home.Workaround: Reboot the iPad. This issue can not reoccur until the iPad is reconnected to the school’s network.Solution: Update to the latest available version of iOS 13.

  • Home WiFi Connection Directions for Global Protect Issues (Must be done at the school):   1.      Login to HUB  2.      Press the home button to open the Settings app.  3.      VPN should say “Not Connected” or toggled off – it should be gray and NOT green  4.  Find “General” on the left, then “VPN” on the right – click on “Not Connected >”  5.   Click on the blue circle with the little “i” to the right of GlobalProtect 5.0 (aw gui)  6.      Find “Connect on Demand” and toggle off – should NOT be green.  7.      Press the Home button and open GlobalProtect  8.      Press “Tap to Connect”   9.      If you are not prompted for the password go back into settings and make sure VPN is toggled off  10.  Go back to GlobalProtect and try “Tap to Connect” again  11.  It should prompt you for the password – enter the password and click “Sign in”  12.  Go back into settings and toggle “Connect on Demand” back ON

February 2020

Students who have upgraded their iPads to iOS 13.1.3 or above may experience issues with Global Protect at home.  The county is aware of this issue and working to resolve it.  As best practice, there is no need to upgrade student iPads unless directed to do so or if there is no other option after disabling a device.

October 2019

Global Protect/Home WiFi Issues

In order to connect to home WiFi networks, students must set up their devices correctly at school.  All students must log into the Hub and the Global Protect apps at Jefferson.  If they do not, their iPads will not work on non-APS networks.  At home, students should see the letters VPN at the top of their screens.  They do not see these letters while connected at school.  Here are set-up and troubleshooting tips:

iPad Setup Instruction Sheet

Connecting to Home WiFi

Middle School Student Technology Handbook

September 2019

September 19 -Grade 6 iPads will be deployed to all students who have signed and returned the APS Acceptable Use Policy on September 20.  If students have any iPad related questions, they should ask their TA teachers for help.

Grade 6 student passwords will be reset Friday, September 13.  TA teachers will inform students of these new passwords Monday, September 14.  Jefferson is currently waiting on the arrival of 30 iPads.  Once these devices arrive, all grade six students will receive them on the same day.  Parents will be updated with new information as soon as it becomes available.  Devices have also been requested for all grade 7 and grade 8 students new to APS this school year.  Please be patient as we try to fulfill this specific need.  Thank you.

May 2019

Grade eight students will return iPads AND chargers on June 5 after the SOL test to their TA teachers.  Both the device and the cables should be turned in to avoid being charged.  If you do not have the original charger, you must turn in an Apple certified replacement.