What device do you need in your classroom? Are you an iPad person or a Chromebooker? First, make a list of what activities you would like to accomplish using digital tools. Would you want to make movies? Do you want your students to utilize producivity tools? Do you want eReaders? Next read the attached article Are iPads or Chromebooks better for schools? Last, tell me what device would meet your needs? Is there any one device a school or school district should choose? Why or why not.

The answer to the question are iPads or Chromebooks better for schools seems to be a difficult one as shown in the article. I lived through the debate in my previous home. My husband was a school board chair and the HS wanted to do one to one iPads to replace netbooks that they were using at the time. There was a lot of educational software that Apple was throwing in to sweeten the deal and my husband insisted in the negotiations that keyboards be included (despite Apple's assurance that they were superflulous). Students later reported that they were glad they had these. I asked my husband why they did not do Chromebooks and he said that, if he had to do it again, he would have.

However,  I teach kindergarten. I think that the iPad format is a lot easier for children who barely know the alphabet, let alone understand a keyboard. When I used the iPad cart with my first graders at my old school, I found they were more able to access them then when I used the netbook cart. Little fingers are just not good with keyboarding. There are a lot of apps for the iPad that I would use if I had them to use in my classroom, including a letter formation app and several math apps. I could also see using them as an e reader with perhaps raz kids. I like making videos on the iPad. I like Educreations and Skitch. I have also used Socrative. I see the value of iPads for early ed for sure.

Personally I am not an Apple person. I own one so that I can Facetime with my grandson in Japan, but I have never really joined the cult of Apple. I would be more inclined to like Apple if they were not so proprietary in their apps and their chargers.

So I guess the short answer is there is no one size fits all tablet for schools. What works for smaller children, just learning their letters and numbers is very different than what older kids may need. Schools would probably be best served having different options available for different uses and ages.