Apple’s new educational app is called ‘Classroom’

by / Monday, 28 March 2016 / Published in Ed Tech, Mobile OS, Mobile Technology

In what turned out to be a relatively low key event on March 21, 2016, Apple recently launched the 9.3 iteration of it’s mobile OS. The new iOS version provides one of the most significant updates for teachers. It delivers a new educational app called ‘Classroom’. This app is aimed at helping teachers ‘guide students through a lesson, see their progress and keep them on track’.

The ‘Classroom’ app comes with a some very interesting features. For example, teachers using iPads in classrooms can use it to instantly launch apps, websites or even books on students’ devices. Teachers can also assign students to shared iPads which they have recently worked on and log them off when students are done working on those devices.

Essentially, the new ‘Classroom’ app provides teachers with smarter monitoring features so they can control what students are doing on their iPads. For instance, they can lock students’ devices into a single app or lock their screens. Teachers can also see what each student is doing on their iPad or even view all students screens at once.

Teachers who use Apple TV in class can use the ‘Classroom’ app to display students’ work to the whole class. Alternatively, they can use AirPlay to wireless project a student’s screen to the rest of the class. As for organizational features, the ‘Classroom’ app enables you to arrange students devices into groups and break students into different groups. One of the cool features about the ‘Classroom’ app is that it ‘automatically creates groups of students based on the apps they are using’.

There are some requirements to ensure the ‘Classroom’ app can be deployed seamlessly in an Educational Institution.  It requires a MDM (Mobile Device Management) solution in place as part of the institution’s IT infrastructure.  But once set up,  the ‘Classroom’ app is expected to make the use of iPads in education a more rich and rewarding experience for both teachers and students.

To use ‘Classroom’ you need to have an iPad running iOS 9.3 or later. Check out Classroom Guide to learn more about this app.

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