I am celebrating the fact that I got my third and final grant needed to complete my classroom set of iPads. Currently I have 30 iPads which allows me to have a 1:1 classroom as long as some of my students use their own devices. Having a hybrid classroom with both dedicated devices and student devices has been a real eye opener for what both methods bring to the classroom. Obviously if you have no other choice, having students use their own devices is better than nothing, but they do come with a few problems. Here are the things I am looking forward to the most with a complete set of classroom iPads:
1. Using paid apps (can't require students to purchase apps)
2. Less distractions (students can't be as easily distracted by notifications)
3. One set of directions (students with different devices have different layouts, even with the same app)
4. No small screens (students struggle with some assignments on their small phone screens)
5. All apps installed and ready for use (no need to have students install apps)
One of the things that I will miss is having fewer iPads to configure, charge, etc...
Happy Teaching
