Free iCloud storage for teachers and students boosted from 5GB to 200GB

Apple said during its event Tuesday in Chicago that teachers and students will receive 200GB of free iCloud storage — a huge increase over the 5GB typically offered for the free tier of iCloud.

"iCloud safely stores students' documents and creative projects, keeping them up to date, secure and accessible from any device," the company said in a statement after the event. "And starting today, any teacher or student with a Managed Apple ID has access to 200GB of free iCloud storage."

The addition of the storage will greatly assist in the future release of Schoolwork, and Classroom, a pair of features expanding from the iPad to the Mac later in 2018. The cloud-based Schoolwork app lets teachers digitally pass handouts to students and set up assignments for them to complete. Notes, PDF documents, and web links can be sent to students using the iPad app, with teachers able to monitor their progress and receive assignments back once they are completed.

Apple plans to release the Schoolwork app in June, giving teachers time to learn how best to use it for classes.

Classroom has been around for two years on iOS, as a way for teachers to manage iPads used by students in the classroom, automatically connecting to a class' iPads. It can be used to remotely open apps, launch websites, or access books, with educators also able to remotely monitor the student's screen, and to lock all devices to refocus the student's attention.