Apple Classroom review

Classroom is Apple’s free app for teachers who teach with iPads or Macs. A teacher runs it on an iPad or Mac and uses it to open the same app, website or book on every student device, lock screens, view what students are doing and pass files back and forth with AirDrop. Classes can be nearby in a classroom, remote, or a mix of both. It is for schools that have already bought into Apple devices and want a simple way for teachers to keep a lesson together.

Who it’s for

Classroom suits primary and secondary schools with iPads, whether each student has one or the class shares a trolley of Shared iPads. A Year 2 teacher who wants every child to open the same reading app at the same moment, then lock screens for carpet time, gets exactly that. Secondary schools with Mac labs can use it too.

It is not for mixed fleets. If your students use Chromebooks or Windows laptops as well, you need a cross-platform tool such as GoGuardian or LanSchool. Our classroom management rankings list more options.

What it does well

The controls match how teachers use iPads in a lesson. You can launch an app, website, book, PDF or podcast episode on every iPad or for one group at a time. You can lock students into a single app so they stay in the maths game you chose, lock all screens to pause the class, and mute audio. Screen View shows every student screen at once or one screen in detail. AirPlay lets you put a student’s screen on the classroom Apple TV to show good work.

Shared iPad support saves real time. When a school configures Shared iPads, Classroom assigns each student to the iPad they used most recently, then logs everyone out at the end of the lesson so the next class starts clean. Teachers can also reset a forgotten Managed Apple Account password from the app, which beats emailing IT mid-lesson.

Agendas let you plan a lesson ahead of time as a list of tasks, each with actions and a timer, and start the class session from the agenda. At the end of class you get a summary of which apps students used.

Classroom also connects with Schoolwork, Apple’s free assignment app, when the school uses Managed Apple Accounts and rosters from Apple School Manager. Schoolwork handles sending and collecting work, and Classroom handles the live lesson.

Where it falls short

Setup is the hard part, and it falls on IT. Apple’s requirements list Bluetooth turned on, ports 3284 and 3285 open, Wi-Fi that allows devices to talk directly to each other, and private MAC addresses turned off for the school network. Many school networks block client-to-client traffic by default, and Classroom simply won’t find student devices until someone changes that. Expect a few frustrating lessons if IT hasn’t tested it first.

The full feature set needs Apple School Manager, Managed Apple Accounts and a device management service. Without them, teachers can run unmanaged nearby classes, but some features, such as password resets for Shared iPad, need the managed setup. Apple also notes that classes synced with Apple School Manager support up to 15 teachers and recommends 60 students or fewer per class.

Classroom is not a filter. It can’t block categories of websites, keep browsing history or alert anyone to risky searches. Schools that need CIPA filtering or safeguarding alerts must buy those separately.

Pricing

Classroom is free on the App Store and the Mac App Store. The cost is in the devices, the device management service, and the IT time to set up the network.

Privacy and data

Apple’s data and privacy overview for schools says that with Classroom, student devices can be managed only during an active class session, that no data is stored after the session ends, and that teachers can’t manage or view student devices outside class. It says students see a notification at the top of their screen when Screen View is active, and that schools can turn Screen View off entirely. The App Store description also says students are told when their screens are being viewed or presented.

More broadly, Apple says it will never track, share or sell student information for advertising or marketing, and doesn’t build profiles of students from email or browsing. Schools sign the Apple School Manager agreement, which covers Managed Apple Accounts. Our student data privacy checklist covers what to confirm.

Verdict

For an iPad school, Classroom is the obvious first choice. It is free, collects little, works only during lessons, and covers what teachers need to run a class on iPads. Schools with Chromebooks or Windows devices, or that need filtering and safeguarding alerts, should look at a cross-platform suite instead.

See the best Apple Classroom alternatives