Today I had the great pleasure of getting an inside peek to the new iOS 9.3 update. This event was hosted by Apple Education. This is not a sponsored post, it is one to help shed some light onto how Apple is meeting education halfway with their newest update. 

9.3 offers two large updates on top of others. First, is the ability to be a shared device. This means that you can have multiple users on the device, and multiple profiles load depending on who is signing in. Just like a computer in the computer lab, your students can customize, save, and load their own profile from an iPad. This is a very exciting update and certainly one that reframes the use of these tools in education. There is just one drawback. The devices used need to be newer than an iPad 2, and be at lease a 32 GB machine. These specs are specifically for the amount of storage that it takes to have multiple users on the device.

The second update is the classroom app. This app allows you to control the devices around you as if you had an MDM at your fingertips. You can group students, lock devices, see screens, and force students to open specific apps. On top of that, you can deep link to specific chapters, or sections within iBooks or other apps. You also have the ability to send students to a testing app and lock them into it. This essentially allows you to have your own personal lockdown browser on all your Apple devices. 

This post just scrapes the surface as to the possibilities that are found with this new update. There are many more promising actions to come from Apple, and they have certainly taken some great strides to meet education where the need is. 

For your reading pleasure, check out Apples newly updated education page. Go and check it out today!!