iOS vs. Mac in K-12 Education

We currently have iOS in 6-8th with Air2, and are likely to settle on iPad Pro 9.7 for our 9-12 deployment that will start next year. Our struggle has always been between the hardware conveniences of the iOS devices vs the software advantages offered by OSX, but as the software gap continues to close, we're leaning more and more towards using iOS for our entire 1 to 1.

We deploy MacBook Airs 3rd through 12th. Even though it hadn't been updated we had to purchase like 300 airs this past summer. We'all probably end up purchasing roughly 100 new machines this next year. Apple is making it very tough for us. We JUST got everyone off magsafe1 chargers. So now we will have multiple types of chargers floating around. On top of that the problems with bootleg USB-C cables worries me and the fact that the charger for a MacBook is 2 pieces, cable and adapter. People are going to lose that and since it isn't MagSafe I'm going to see more laptops get pulled off tables. We also now have to provide tons of dongles to the teachers to use their smart boards and their projectors. It's legit a nightmare.

iPads might be a logical decision for us with a year or two. It'll take more than us as a tech department deciding it. But we may just go chromebook at that point.

Anyway I'm curious the answers to the original questions.

Apple is indeed making it difficult for the 1:1 programs out there using Macs. I feel that they've designed their new Mac hardware in a total vacuum without talking to the actual users. I am fortunate that we replaced all 1000+ laptop fleet this last summer with 2015 MacBook Pros and don't have to decide about the new MacDongle Pro for a few years yet.

But when the time comes, we may have to seriously consider iPads for our 1:1 or Chromebooks. Having to manage dongles, multi-part USB-C power adapters, and no MagSafe might be too much for us, and we're an all-Apple school that's been an Apple Distinguished School for 10+ years. They are forcing us into a corner, and if our EdTech people decide that iPads are not a good for our 1:1, then it'll be Chromebooks or nothing. And let's not forget that these new machines are significantly more expensive than the MacBook Airs or the 2015 MacBook Pros. Even $200 more per machine = more than $200,000 that's not in the budget.

Our longstanding problem with our iPads is that it's always been a hassle to get student work off the iPads. While AirDrop is improving, it's still not great. Our iPads are not in a 1:1 environment, so their shared use by multiple students has long been a thorn the teachers complain about. Another concern we'd have going from OS X to iOS in our 1:1 would be the amount or tech retraining that would need to happen. No one is convinced that it would be a smooth or easy process.

We are full 1:1 K-12 iOS with 3600+ iPads. K-2 stay in the classroom in carts and 3-12 go home with students. We started out all iOS, the only other Macs we have on campus are six MBPs we purchased for the IT Dept. to use Apple Configurator for each school and a few Mac-Mini caching servers. AC is gone now and all of the iPads are now in jamf PRO. We have many mechanisms in place to make it work smoothly. We leverage Active Directory and app Limitations within jamf to push teacher requested apps to students in individual classrooms. Dealing with proxy issues so students are filtered at home and breakage are the two most challenging areas. We use Schoology for our LMS which takes care of students receiving and handing in work. It all happens digitally, no need to extract work off of the iPad. I think your transition to full 1:1 iPads would be less painful than you think.

In our elementary schools, we have either 1 or 2 carts (each with 30 iPads in them) inside each building (iPad Mini 2's). Teachers then reserve the iPads for use in their classroom. Each school also has one or two carts of Chromebooks that the students can use (only one out of our 7 elementary schools has a dedicated computer lab, hence the need for Chromebooks). Additionally in grades 3-5, each teacher has a set of 6 Chromebooks in their classroom for students to use.

The middle schools have computer labs and 2 carts of iPads for use.

None of our buildings have any Macbook's in use (we due have two classrooms of Mac's at the hs for TV production and Music class).

The biggest thing to take into consideration is the size of the iPads. We originally started with only 16gb and immediately regretted the decision (due to an a huge number of apps on them). 2 years ago we swapped out all the iPads for 32gb versions of the Mini 2's. In hindsight, had we known that Apple would have required Mini 4's or higher to use the shared iPad features, we would have went that route, but as it is, we are stuck with the Mini two's.

Those with the iPads....do you guys use any services for plagerism like Turnitin.com? That's one of the bigger things I think as strange as it is keeping us. There are a few services out there that require us to use Word formatted documents, which I know is available on the iOS.

Do you have people use whatever software they want for word processing? Or do you use Office on the iPads or Pages or Google Docs?

This is a great topic. We've been 1:1 with Apple Laptops since 1993 (not a typo) and have gone through many, many transitions and management platforms. We've been and still are, an SSA. We have run 4 separate iPad pilots. In and of itself this does not make us a paragon of edu/tech integration but rather, experts in our own environment and ONLY in our own environment.

We've spent a lot of time growing into, taking advantage of, and developing that environment for and with the macOS (OS X). Each attempt to truly evaluate the iOS platform ends with us concluding that these are great devices to have in addition to student and faculty laptops but they just aren't a suitable replacement for the learning environment that we've created over more than two decades. Each institution is different.

Far more important than the device is the overall solution. What I mean is, I've seen very successful Chromebook installations, successful iPad programs, successful masOS (OS X) installations, etc. I've also seen horribly mismanaged or misguided environments with the perfect homogeneous environments I've just listed. What makes a successful program comes down to training, culture, and commitment to developing a well thought out learning environment . I see a lot from Apple about iPad initiatives because, in my view, they are generally easier to manage and less expensive compared to Apple Laptops. I don't want to call it a middle ground, but I think that's close. Apple has obviously realized this and is perfectly willing to market the heck out of it. I do sometimes feel left out of the cool new stuff. Like shared users or the Classroom App with integration to ASM (etc).

However, I do feel that users with macOS laptops simply have a greater capacity to be productive and creative than iOS ONLY users. This does NOT mean that I believe iOS 1:1 programs are ineffective or naturally inferior to macOS environments. I do believe that if you can afford it go macOS. If you can't then...