With the changing of the new age of technology, the debate exists whether a laptop or tablet is the most effective way to work, and this is the dilemma PCA faces. As our contract with Apple expires, we get the opportunity to decide what technology we will be using for the 2022-2023 school year. Considering the pros and cons of each, I’m here to convince you that keeping laptops would be the most beneficial.
First and foremost, our current system involves 7-12th having laptops and K-6 having iPads, which I think is the most effective. iPads are perfect for young kids, with a touchscreen and the ability to have kid friendly apps and programs, and the fact that interaction is a major part of helping young students develop. iPads are also a lot more portable than laptops, and for some young kids that lack the responsibility to handle a bit of a larger device such as a laptop, it’s a lot safer with a protective case and a lot more comfortable for these young students.
In fact, the touchscreen is a focal point of the iPad. “I like the iPad, especially the touchscreen,” said Fifth Grader Ethan Chuang. The aspect of taking it home as well helps a lot. “I like using my iPad for school, it’s easier to do your homework, and I bring it home everyday to do my History and English work,” said Fifth Grader Rachel Sutton.
Additionally, a new student who transferred to PCA, Fifth Grader Camden Gully said, “It’s really nice to have, and at my old school we had laptops, but having a touchscreen makes it easy since I like using my hands.”
Clearly, younger students enjoy the mobility but casualty of the iPad, and the hands-on and independent aspect is a major part of the appeal.
Similarly, the students from 7-12th grade enjoy the privilege of having laptops, allowing them to feel a bit more grown up and formal. PCA lifer Sophomore Kade Eskew when asked about the transition said, “I feel like the change to the laptop is definitely better, like for younger students the iPad suits them, but as you get older the laptop is what is good to use.”
With the addition of a physical keyboard, a laptop allows older students to keep up with the increased pace of information that comes with the change in grade. In English, for example, it allows students to write essays at an increased pace, the laptops also enable teachers to use different tools such as Logger Pro, and the use of desktop tools like Grammarly allows efficiency.
As someone who exclusively uses PC/Laptop, I greatly prefer the ease of a keyboard and the fact that we are deciding to switch iPads is a bit of an odd choice in my opinion, considering how well laptops have worked for us in the past years. As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” and I believe that this is definitely the case, and we should stick with what has been working so far.
iPad or Macbook, that is the question! With some students doing trials of iPads soon we will be able to see which will be best for students for the foreseeable future.
