How To: Use Multiple Devices

Why would you want to?

Mobile phones are great, aren't they? The problem with them, apart from never being able to get away from them, is that the amount of information which can be displayed and acted upon is limited due to the size of the screen. This either means a lot of scrolling or making the text very small! Since wearing 3 pairs of glasses at the same time is impractical, an alternative is required. Hence the march of the tablets!

The advent of tablets has allowed apps to be more expansive, displaying more information and making things much more readable. Furthermore, it is far easier to update data on a tablet simply due to the size of the keyboard.

Whilst the vast majority of mobile phones have internet, the same cannot be said for tablets. Using both a phone and a tablet might therefore make sense.

Does MDT2 allow multiple devices?

Yes, absolutely. We recognise that whilst you will be using your phone as your primary communication device you may well be using a tablet as well, not only for teaching but also for updating lesson information. Therefore communication between your devices is not only desirable but essential.

Unlike the original incarnation of MyDriveTime where synchronisation was manually controlled, in MDT2 it is automatic. Not only will your devices upload any changes to the central server they will also communicate with any other devices and endeavour to keep them all in line.

Syncing between Devices

How does it work?

Let us assume that we have two devices, an iPhone, and an iPad.

When you make a change on the iPhone the app will upload that change to the central server unless:

You are working offline i.e., no connection - the presence of the yellow bar will indicate this
You have a poor or intermittent connection - the presence of the red bar will indicate this

If you have updated lessons on the iPhone and neither of the conditions above apply, you should assume that your changes have been uploaded to the central server. This process will also 'push' those changes to any other devices you are running i.e., the iPad.

Once the iPad receives the 'pushed' changes, it will attempt to make those changes locally to that device. Now, there may be only one change to be processed but there could be more than a thousand, depending on the changes that have been made and particularly if the device has been offline for some time. For example, changes to a syllabus used by many students can generate thousands of changes. Please be patient and allow the device to catch up. Above all, you should avoid making changes to the data on the iPad until it has.

How do I know if I have a problem?

If, after a short time i.e., 5 minutes, the iPad does not show those changes, then it is likely that there is a problem with the iPad and it is important to resolve that problem BEFORE making any changes on it. If you do make changes, then those changes are potentially being made on data that is out of date and you may lose information that you have entered.

How do I fix the problem?

If the iPad has not updated, it is likely that there is no current connection to the central server. First you need to re-establish that connection and then update your device.

Press the refresh button in the top right of the diary. If there is no current connection, it will attempt to reconnect you. You may need to login again, possibly by re-entering your login credentials.
Once the connection has been re-established, press the refresh button again to request and download any data changes which are pending. Again, this may take a few minutes depending on the number of updates that are waiting.
If this fails to bring the iPad up to date, then log out of the app and log in again. This will download a completely fresh copy of the data to the device.

What about?

Can I use Journey Tracking if I don't have access to the internet?

Yes you can. As long as your device has GPS, journey tracking will work. However, the Journey State will attempt to display the map of your current location using Google maps which it will not be able to do if your device does not have internet access.

If your device does not have GPS, journey tracking will still attempt to track the route using Wi-Fi access points but will not be particularly accurate.

Can I hotspot?

If your immediate reaction here is 'What is a hotspot?' then you can ignore this section completely. However, if you want to use hotspotting, you need to know whether MDT2 can handle it. Well, the answer is yes. It doesn't make any appreciable difference to the app if you use it through a hotspot.

Bear in mind though that if you use Journey Tracking it will use the GPS capability from that device, not from the hotspot device.

Can I use Android Auto or Apple Carplay?

Currently, the MDT2 app cannot interface with either of them but they will not interfere with the app so you can continue to use them without problem.