Apple has been outspoken about its belief that the iPad can all but replace laptops. Try telling that to the Maine Department of Education, however, who are sending their iPads back to Apple in favor of a swap for MacBook Airs.
According to the report, Apple has agreed to do the “Refresh” swap offer at no additional cost to the school district — which decided to go ahead with it after a survey found that 88.5 percent of teachers and 74 percent of students favored MacBooks over iPads.
One teacher noted that iPads, “provide no educational function in the classroom. Students use them as toys,” and that they make word processing “near to impossible.” Another labelled the choice to adopt iPads as “a disaster.”
Apple will send 1,718 laptops will be delivered in time for the fall to Edward Little High School and Auburn Middle School.
Of course, it should be noted that this is only one example. In other cases, schools appear to have gladly taken to using iPads in class — while there’s no doubt at all about the popularity of iPads among young people.
Are you a teacher or student who has used iPads in the classroom? If so, how well have you found them to work? Leave your comments below.
Source: Sun Journal
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
8 responses to “Schools in Maine swapping their iPads for MacBooks”
Considering “students use them as toys”, yet just shy of 3/4 of students would prefer to have a computer instead…the students seem to recognize it. “We need to stop playing and get to work”, they’ve said, and they’re saying they can’t yet do that on an iPad. Whether it’s because they are not able to, or they don’t want to, I don’t know, but I still have a beast of a time typing anything on an iPad. Maybe they were tired of attaching bluetooth keyboards all the time?
I think that if the user needs to do a lot of typing, nothing replaces a good laptop. I do think that IPads do have a use in education more as a book reader and possibly specific apps that are more tablet based. I know that Microsoft’s 2 in 1 sales pitch is out there, but the problem is that Windows just sucks, in either mode.
They weren’t using the iPad Pros, it might have been different outcome, the iPads they used didn’t have a keyboard.
Generally it depends on the user experience. iPads and iPhones are limited on usage unless you install AppleProductivity or MS Office on every single iPad. And the attachable keyboards aren’t very good for some people. I had an iPad Clam Case from Targus and my wrists have to twist and palms meeting each other to type any words.
It’s easier to use a MacBook or a 17 inch iMac with USB keyboard and Mouse than an iPad.
I was stupid once and bought an iPad, but never again. For a little more scratch you can have something actually worth having which can actually do something constructive. Loving my two MacBook Pros while my iPad sits on the end table and makes a good coaster/tray.
My daughter’s school district always had computer labs with iMacs, but, when they decided to purchase devices for all the students in the secondary schools, they went with chromebooks. (If they had gone for iPads and put all their textbooks on the devices, I would have purchased hers outright.) Now, they not only have to lug around 30 lbs. of textbooks, but also the chromebook, from class to class. While the chromebooks are good for writing assignments using the keyboard, they are almost useless in math classes, where the iPad’s touch screen shines. As announced at last week’s Google I/O, android apps may be coming to chromebooks which might increase their value in the classroom if the opt for the more expensive chromebooks with touchscreens.
EASY solution. Ipad Pro iOS/OSX hybrid + trackpad keyboard.
Lies! The iPad is a true exa,ple of how tablets and education work together there and not so-called toys and the teachers there are just missing out. Hell, my school used iPad Airs and they worked fine. I could do just about anything on it and would be flawless and it’s what I considered a master educational tool. Never overrated any day.
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