I am lucky. I work in a school where each of my students has an iPad, provided by the school district and property of the school district. I like to think of it as 1:1 computing at its finest. I have an iPad, a MacBook Pro, an iPhone, and a Chromebook.
This year, two schools have come to observe me teach and (more importantly) observe students using, interacting with and learning from their technology. They were classroom teachers (grades 4, 5, 6), principals and a supt/principal.
After each observation, we debrief.
Each debrief has included this question from the observers: Should our school buy iPads or Chromebooks? Which is better?
My answer to this question changes daily. Today my answer would be both- the iPad and the Chromebook. I know this is unrealistic in many ways.
I'm going to explain my thinking behind this by first starting with my personal experience. I use all of my devices for certain things. I use my Chromebook mostly when I am in my Google drive, when I am working in the cloud. I use my iPad, MacBook and iPhone when I am tweeting, making iMovies, and Power Point presentations. For example, right now I am blogging on my MacBook Pro because I am not blogging from my school district Google account. Personally, I love Apple. I willingly let Apple, (mainly Siri) run my life. Apple is my personal device. All of my iTunes, iPhotos and videos are on my Apple devices. I will only tweet from my iPhone!
Next up is my teaching experience with the iPad and Chromebook. I've had one or the other in my classroom. This year with iPads, my students have no keyboarding accountability. The past five years, they had keyboarding proficiency/automaticity standards. If memory serves me correctly 6th grade proficiency was 15-16 wpm w/ 3 or less errors. Negative for the iPad- lack of keyboarding.
If you are going to let the Smarter Balanced Assessment rule your life, your students need to be able to keyboard accurately (i.e. not hunt and peck). Trust me- I piloted the ELA portion of the test last spring.
iPad negative- keyboarding.
Chromebook- great for keyboarding.
iPad negative- it doesn't run flash.
Chromebook- great for flash (enVision math). I see value in having students take a 5 question math quiz on-line from the enVision curriculum.
Chromebook great for running Sumdog. iPad- again, doesn't support flash.
iMovie- can't be beat. iPhoto- can't be beat.
Durability- personally, I think Chromebooks break as easily as iPads.
iPad apps cost money (usually). GAFE seems to have more choices that don't cost money.
iPad negative- management. Pushing out apps, synching apps, IOS updates- it's a nightmare!!! (And I don't think part of my job description is effective iPad management that is done well/efficiently.) But I try my best. I don't have to manage Chromebooks the way I manage iPads.
iPads/Apple has allure or popularity factor. Apple products are cool! Apple products are in!
My class understands that their iPad is property of the school district and to be used for educational purposes only. It is not their "personal" device.
My final opinion on this day in November, 2013 is.......iPad over Chromebook because of increased student engagement. My bottom line is student learning outcomes and student engagement. My students are most engaged on their iPads.
I dedicate this blog to my sister-in-law. My biggest blog fan!!!
