COVID-19 Educator Help Desk

Hello All,

I always appreciate your thoughts and contributions. I have to sit down with a parent who thinks the only thing lacking in our school program is laptops. We are a 1 to 1 school with iPads. Many of our teachers use various apps on the iPads aside from Google suite. I'd love to hear what your school uses, do you have a preference? I meet with this parent on Thursday morning and I would like to know what some other schools use and why?

Thanks for your feedback!
Alison

------------------------------
Alison Matthews Instructional Technology Coach/Director
teacher
Green Hedges School
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12/15/2020 11:18:00 AM
From: Alison Matthews
Subject: iPads vs. Chromebook vs. MacBook Air

Hello All,

I always appreciate your thoughts and contributions. I have to sit down with a parent who thinks the only thing lacking in our school program is laptops. We are a 1 to 1 school with iPads. Many of our teachers use various apps on the iPads aside from Google suite. I'd love to hear what your school uses, do you have a preference? I meet with this parent on Thursday morning and I would like to know what some other schools use and why?

Thanks for your feedback!
Alison

------------------------------
Alison Matthews Instructional Technology Coach/Director
teacher
Green Hedges School
------------------------------

There are lots of reasons to go in any number of directions. If all you are worried about is budget (and this typically is the #1 factor for school boards) then Chromebooks win hands down although the latest iPad gives incredible bang for the buck. When we chose to go 1:1 with iPads there were other factors in play. Familiarity by students was one. About 90% of the student body had iPhones. The move to iPads was seamless in that regard. We were able to practically ignore some of the basics in our PD because of this. The iPad is also the only device on the market that can run every major office suite. This allowed our students to use Google, Microsoft or Apple. Portability and access to high end components was another factor. Students can easily take iPads anywhere and have full access to all of their apps and tools. The cameras are very good and it's so easy to use this device in the field as compared to toting around a laptop. They are also adaptable. If you want a keyboard you can add a keyboard case very inexpensively (if you stay away from Apple's offerings). The accessibility options are beyond compare. ​Finally, the touch interface is far more intuitive, quicker to use, etc. than translating through a keyboard or mouse. Are there reasons to offer other options at the same time? Absolutely. There are niche programs that might require a specific type of device. Nothing wrong with that. But as a daily general purpose device that offers major bang for the buck...it's hard to beat the iPad.

I'll close with one caveat that also guided our use. Students need to be prepared not to use one type of device, but to be adaptable. What you do should be all about process and product and not about force fitting a device to the curriculum (or making the curriculum fit the device). When you do that, students should be able to sit down with any device and be productive. This is a major skill they will need at every stage of their lives.

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Dennis McElroy Retired
ISTE Teacher Education Network President
---------------------------------
Professor Emeritus
Graceland University
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-15-2020 11:17
From: Alison Matthews
Subject: iPads vs. Chromebook vs. MacBook Air

Hello All,

I always appreciate your thoughts and contributions. I have to sit down with a parent who thinks the only thing lacking in our school program is laptops. We are a 1 to 1 school with iPads. Many of our teachers use various apps on the iPads aside from Google suite. I'd love to hear what your school uses, do you have a preference? I meet with this parent on Thursday morning and I would like to know what some other schools use and why?

Thanks for your feedback!
Alison

------------------------------
Alison Matthews Instructional Technology Coach/Director
teacher
Green Hedges School
------------------------------

Of the 3, I think iPads are the best choice for multiple reasons such as cost, management (though Chromebooks are probably close), but, for me, the biggest advantage are the apps! For example, my young niece and nephew use Seeing AI on their iPads to find words around the house and have them read to them. I've shown older students how to use Office Lens to scan documents and have them read to them (Microsoft account required, either O365 or the free personal ones work, too). It's mobility, ease of using the camera to insert into documents, and a keyboard can be added. Less issue with programs not working when there's an update vs. a laptop or Chromebook. (Our first question when we get calls from people is "Is Chrome updating in the background?" which fixes things about 80% or more of the time!)

------------------------------
-Karyn (@Filibuster3)
Technology Training Specialist
ISTE 2020 presenter! "Accessibility Tools Smackdown"
MIEExpert, MIETrainer, Apple Teacher, Google Certified Trainer, National Geographic Certified Educator
https://gktechies.wordpress.com/ (blog)
https://delivr.com/27zf2 (Accessibility collection)
http://bit.ly/gktechies YouTube Channel
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-15-2020 11:17
From: Alison Matthews
Subject: iPads vs. Chromebook vs. MacBook Air

Hello All,

I always appreciate your thoughts and contributions. I have to sit down with a parent who thinks the only thing lacking in our school program is laptops. We are a 1 to 1 school with iPads. Many of our teachers use various apps on the iPads aside from Google suite. I'd love to hear what your school uses, do you have a preference? I meet with this parent on Thursday morning and I would like to know what some other schools use and why?

Thanks for your feedback!
Alison

------------------------------
Alison Matthews Instructional Technology Coach/Director
teacher
Green Hedges School
------------------------------

Thank you to everyone for your replies. This is incredibly helpful. 

Thanks! 

------------------------------
Alison Matthews Instructional Technology Coach/Director
teacher
Green Hedges School
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-16-2020 11:27
From: Karyn Fillhart
Subject: iPads vs. Chromebook vs. MacBook Air

Of the 3, I think iPads are the best choice for multiple reasons such as cost, management (though Chromebooks are probably close), but, for me, the biggest advantage are the apps! For example, my young niece and nephew use Seeing AI on their iPads to find words around the house and have them read to them. I've shown older students how to use Office Lens to scan documents and have them read to them (Microsoft account required, either O365 or the free personal ones work, too). It's mobility, ease of using the camera to insert into documents, and a keyboard can be added. Less issue with programs not working when there's an update vs. a laptop or Chromebook. (Our first question when we get calls from people is "Is Chrome updating in the background?" which fixes things about 80% or more of the time!)

------------------------------
-Karyn (@Filibuster3)
Technology Training Specialist
ISTE 2020 presenter! "Accessibility Tools Smackdown"
MIEExpert, MIETrainer, Apple Teacher, Google Certified Trainer, National Geographic Certified Educator
https://gktechies.wordpress.com/ (blog)
https://delivr.com/27zf2 (Accessibility collection)
http://bit.ly/gktechies YouTube Channel

Original Message:
Sent: 12-15-2020 11:17
From: Alison Matthews
Subject: iPads vs. Chromebook vs. MacBook Air

Hello All,

I always appreciate your thoughts and contributions. I have to sit down with a parent who thinks the only thing lacking in our school program is laptops. We are a 1 to 1 school with iPads. Many of our teachers use various apps on the iPads aside from Google suite. I'd love to hear what your school uses, do you have a preference? I meet with this parent on Thursday morning and I would like to know what some other schools use and why?

Thanks for your feedback!
Alison

------------------------------
Alison Matthews Instructional Technology Coach/Director
teacher
Green Hedges School
------------------------------