by David Robertson, Chief Technology Officer
September 15, 2014 

This week, Apple will roll out a new version of iOS, the operating system which runs all of our iPads and iPhones. This matters to our School because, during most days, we have more than 450 iPads and iPhones active on our campus. Every one one of those devices will be getting an upgrade. Here are a few notes to consider about the upgrade before it happens.

What will be changing? A full list what’s new in iOS 8 can be found on the Apple web site. In brief, there are changes to photos, the keyboard, ways that families can share information, and how apps can share files. But it’s a bigger change than that list implies.

Those changes seem mostly cosmetic. Why do they matter? There are literally hundreds of new features in iOS 8 which are not listed on the website, because they are too technical to be of interest to most people. But these features, such as app extensions, have gotten HUGE attention from app developers, and they are creating new versions of apps, and new apps, to take advantage of these new features.

When will iOS 8 come out? Apple has promised that it will be available on Wednesday, September 19th. In past years, it has been available around noon; we expect about the same timing this year.

After the new iOS is installed, is that all that changes? No. As noted earlier, many apps have new versions to take advantage of the new features in iOS 8. Starting on Wednesday, after you install iOS 8, you will see that a lot your apps are updating automatically to new versions. This high level of update activity will probably continue for several weeks.

What problems can I anticipate? There will be glitches in iOS 8, glitches in apps, and glitches in our school environment (wireless or printing or something else). Just be patient, and together we’ll get them all worked out.

Enjoy the upgrade. Every new generation of iOS makes the iPad a stronger tool for teaching and learning. Take some time to read about what’s new, and some more time to play with the new iOS. The more you know, they more you’ll enjoy using it and the better able you’ll be to help your students use their iPad.