| My previous job was in K-12 tech, and I still keep in contact with my old boss. When I started at that position, the school district (~5k students) was nearly 100% Apple. Nearly every device was the low-cost polycarb Macbook. The district purchased them with a heavy investment from "Classrooms for the Future" program, which covered a large portion of the cost. Since that time, Apple retired the less expensive model and (same as they still are) trying to position the iPad as a replacement. Here's the problem though:
Students are never going to be effective at long-term use on a tablet. Can you imagine writing a grade 12 level book report on a touch screen? Budget-wise, the district would only be able to purchase the iPads, a case, and that's all. Bluetooth keyboards would not be able to fit in the budget. Compared, feature for feature, and price- Chromebooks and other traditional low-cost laptops are much more effective to the success of getting technology into students' hands. In fact, they currently run one of the largest 1-to-1 Linux laptop deployments in the eastern US: https://technology.pennmanor.net/11-laptop-program/ |