iOS 9.3 - A breakthrough for Schools

Introduction

Usher in the most significant commitment from Apple to schools since they launched the iPad. iOS 9.3.

Is it Tim Cook’s influence? Who knows, but whilst Apple have traditionally stood back from the mechanics of teaching and allowed third party software providers like Jamf to develop management tools for that function, the latest announcement of iOS 9.3 is clear intent that they’re absolutely committed to developing innovative solutions for the classroom.

iOS 9.3 is due for release in Autumn, and the beta version already available has revealed a number of amazing new tools and features. These fall in to four key enhancement areas:

Apple School Manager
Managed Apple ID’s
Shared iPad
Classroom app for iPad

Apple School Manager

Apple School Manager is an exciting development for schools which will allow them centralise most of Apple’s education-focused services with a single login. Using this tool schools will be able to buy content, manage their DEP account, set up iTunes U content, and perhaps most revolutionary of all create and manage Apple ID’s on behalf of their students.

Once available the initial setup of your Apple School Manager account will direct you through the simple stages required to integrate with your schools MDM solution and student information systems (SIS).

After the beta period (Autumn we believe), sign up will also migrate existing DEP and VPP accounts in to your new Apple School Manager account.

Managed Apple ID’s

Apple School Manager allows your school to generate managed Apple ID’s for staff and students, allocating a specific role to the Apple ID defining what tasks they are able to perform. These managed Apple ID’s will behave slightly differently to standard Apple ID’s, particularly when it comes to purchasing content:

Browsing but no purchasing

- App Store
- iTunes Store

Disabled

- Apple Pay
- Find My Friends
- Find My iPhone
- iCloud Mail
- HomeKit connected devices
- iCloud Keychain
- Touch ID

Administrators can enable for students

- FaceTime
- iMessage
- iCloud Backup
- Diagnostics and Usage

Classroom App

The new Classroom App is the real breakthrough for teachers coming with iOS 9.3. Amongst other things it allows a remote view of classroom iPad screens, giving the ability to monitor an entire class’s progress from one centralised location. They’ll be able to see immediately if any of their pupils are struggling, and ensure that nobody gets left behind no matter how reluctant they are to ask for help.

The Classroom App will be reliant on your MDM solution to function properly, and leveraging that platform it will allow you to setup ‘classes’ of devices or users, and push those iPads to specific apps, websites or lock the iPads down completely. Teachers will also be able to assign devices to specific students, see who’s logged in to which device or reset passcodes.

Classroom will be available for free on the app store when iOS 9.3 is publicly released.

Shared iPad

Following on from Apple’s huge steps forward in the used of shared devices with iOS 9, they’ve broken the mould with Shared iPad under iOS 9.3. This is truly revolutionary for any school using shared iPads.

Fundamentally Shared iPad allows multiple students to login and out of a single iPad with their managed Apple ID to experience a personal device experience on a shared device platform. The clever part is how the iOS is silently synchronising data in the background to cloud services while the student works, which ensures that as soon as they logout the iPad is ready for the next student to login. There’s even a simple login method for younger students who can tap on their picture and enter a PIN code.

All that Shared iPad requires is supervised devices and a compatible MDM to configure the service.

User Specific Configuration Payloads

A couple of other treats have been announced to be available alongside iOS 9.3. Your MDM will now be able to send out configuration payloads unique to an iPad, dependant and customisable on the user who’s logged in. Home screen layouts, restrictions, notifications and Safari Autofill preferences can all be managed over the air by your MDM.

Email us at education@krcs.co.uk

Call us on 0115 9851797

Categories