Webdav

Hi.
Would be good to back up info to our own school storage system rather than Dropbox. Is this possible? We are going to do this with Keynote, Pages & Numbers on the iPad next half-term.

Nick

Hi Nick,
We'll add iCloud support in our future major update and I've just noted Webdav as the next backup option to be implemented.
As you're the first to request Webdav, if you can provide any specifics on the server you're using (Mac OSX,Apache,IIS..) we'll work first against it.

Hi Bert
Can you develop it for IIS first please (we're using IIS 7.5)

Hope this helps. You should develop a full MIS to enable write back. Some the solutions in our country are pretty poor. Keep up the good work.
Nick

Hi Bert,
We are able to access 4 webdav addresses via our iPads:

-Personal home directory (For personal CSV files)
-Staff global (This contains all of the school assessment data)
-Student global
-Vi Form Site (6th Form assessment)

Webdav Nav app allows you to have multiple addresses... iWork's apps only 1 at a time. Staff could import directly from staff global when each assessment is complete. We are also have an issue with CSV mark sheets with large headers crashing on import. Would welcome your advice on this.
Have sent out a tutorial to staff via an ibook on on your reporting mode....has been well received.

Primary use of Webdav with idoceo is to access assessment from multiple directories. I would say that accessing files is more important than saving back as Dropbox backup is working really well.

Keep the good work going, have a good Christmas,
Nick

Hi Nick,
In this upcoming version we've added WebDAV as an alternative backup/restore method, I think I misunderstood your point ... and from what you're explaining , you'll need some extra features to be implemented in the gradebook as well... we'll work on that on the following update.
You'll see in this 2.5 version plenty of 'Dropbox oriented' features to add any kind of files. The plan is to first check that WebDAV works properly with your servers, and to move it to the same feature level as Dropbox afterwards.
Could you send me a sample CSV (with fake data or no data at all) that crashes? We've got time to solve it with the update , count on it.

Merry Christmas

I am curious. Will the webdav sync be a 'transparent' sync (like one imagines the icloud one would be) or will you still have to explicitly tell the app to perform a backup?

Webdav sync is a feature that is important to me to ensure that I am not going to get in trouble with school data protection policies, but I'd want it to be (if this is possible) continually backing me up on a regular basis without me telling it to do so.

It's also worth noting that since you plan on implementing a mac version which syncs with the cloud, it would be worth allowing the Mac version to backup from the same file as a rudimentary internal 'cloud' synch, or perhaps as a much longer term goal, offer a standalone sync server (which would probably need to run on windows at the very least if you want schools to implement it).

I think these features will be very important if you want to increase your uptake because I suspect schools are not very keen to use services that store confidential information on external services such as iCloud or Dropbox. If you had a server which the school would implement and had covered all the data protection angles (such as encryption etc), I would happily go and pester the IT department to run it and proselytize it to the remaining staff staff body or even senior management. As it stands, because there are data protection issues, I tend to keep it to myself at the moment.

And since we are discussing things you might want to implement, if you were to go down the above road, you might want to consider some way of implementing some kind of 'data check-in' integration with existing school MIS systems (such as SIMS.net or Serco CMIS etc). I realise that this would be probably years down the line though.

But as a short term suggestion, perhaps you could investigate whether data can be imported into the above systems via file import (I'd find out myself, but I'm currently between placements). If iDoceo would create a file with one press which can then be imported directly into the MIS without modifying the file at all, it would save teachers time and lead to data deadlines being met quicker and so less work for senior leaders.

If I were to go to SLs and tell them that there is a tool which allows teachers to record data quickly and efficiently, is fully compliant with school data protection policies and is going to lead to less work for them, I think school-wide participation is going to be far easier to achieve.

Hi Ben,
The 'transparent' sync is something we're delaying on purpose in this next version.
All three methods , iCloud,Dropbox and WebDAV will work manually (single tap to backup) to avoid any mistakes. This 2.5 is a really ambitious update and we tend to fall on the safe side regarding user data, and 'automatic' options.
After the update and feedback regarding the alternative backup methods, we will add the 'transparent' sync.
What we are trying avoid here is basically:

- Automatic 3G data transfer which in some conditions incur in additional fees (from the ISP) or lower bandwidth available for the rest of the apps

- iPad's battery life is usually reduced (a lot) if transmitting data on 3G or Wifi , and backup files will increase a lot in size in this version as you'll be able to store any kind of file in it.

- All backup files are kept with a timestamp to allow some form of Time Machine restore. This gives absolute peace of mind to backups (but might probe useless in the long term).
Creating automatic backups will require some form of automatic cleanup too , like keeping for example the last 2 available backups... and deleting backups automatically is a big NO NO without proper testing...

Hope I shed some light on the question! Thanks for sharing your concerns

bert wrote:
What we are trying avoid here is basically:

- Automatic 3G data transfer which in some conditions incur in additional fees (from the ISP) or lower bandwidth available for the rest of the apps

- iPad's battery life is usually reduced (a lot) if transmitting data on 3G or Wifi , and backup files will increase a lot in size in this version as you'll be able to store any kind of file in it.

- All backup files are kept with a timestamp to allow some form of Time Machine restore. This gives absolute peace of mind to backups (but might probe useless in the long term).
Creating automatic backups will require some form of automatic cleanup too , like keeping for example the last 2 available backups... and deleting backups automatically is a big NO NO without proper testing...

Hope I shed some light on the question! Thanks for sharing your concerns

Thanks for your response, I agree that you are probably be right to be cautious. Some suggestions:

• Optional setting - transparent sync only when connected to wifi.
• Optional setting - transparent sync only once (or user defined number) a day.
• Optional setting - transparent sync only when connected to specific SSID (ie - school network).
• Optional setting - transfer attachments only when attached to wifi and/or power supply. (Perhaps the backup would contain placeholders up until that point, then the file reedited)

Anyway. it's not a big deal at present so long as it comes eventually. I look forward to the next version!

Oops I missed your edit by a minute.
I agree with the need of a local server in most situations regarding students confidential data. But probably WebDAV is the way to go here, it is a standard protocol and can be secured/encrypted both in data transmission (HTTPS) and data storage , and you've got the whole spectrum of commercial/open-source , and Windows/MacOSX/Linux solutions to integrate.
The 'data check-in' is something we're working on already , but it will take some time, each country has its own systems ... Our top priority the moment is to improve the user's experience and then move to a higher (department/school/college) level integration.
I'm aware that in this software market it tends to be the exact opposite. The traditional software company targets the whole school/education sector , and offers subpar experience to each individual teacher hiding behind the excuse of a global integration/communication between departments. I'm hoping we'll be able to break that tendency.
It's worth the wait! Be prepared to add your octagonal tables in those seating plans...

Thanks again

Fantastic. Love that you guys are really thinking big with iDoceo! Looking forward to the next version.

Ben