Apple’s iOS 9.3 update will come with a slew of improvements and new features, but the biggest focus is the continued push into education with a brand new Classroom app. To help solidify this move, Bloomberg reports that the Cupertino company also just purchased education startup LearnSprout.
LearnSprout builds software for schools to help analyze student data, and the San Francisco-based company works with more than 2,500 school districts across the U.S., according to their website. It’s easy to see why Apple bought the start up, as it likely wants to use LearnSprout’s presence across the U.S. to push its service to the iPad.
As usual, Apple is mum on the acquisition, as spokesman Colin Johnson said to Bloomberg that the company “buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purposes or plans.”
The iOS 9.3 preview described new features for schools to keep track of iOS devices in the classroom, as well as faster and easier ways multiple students to log in shared iPads. For example, younger students only have to type in a four-digit PIN on the lock screen to access their shared iPads.
The Classroom app showcased in the preview also allows teachers to guide their students through lessons, and lets teachers see what students are doing with Screen View. A Remote Control function also lets teachers launch apps, websites or textbooks on student’s shared iPads. The upcoming update also introduces Apple School Manager, a centralized service that allows school administrators to control iPads, as well as manage and distribute Apple IDs.
