6th through 12th grade are 1:1. This means that they get to take the devices home.
K-5th grade devices are kept at school in carts, with enough devices to have 1 per student.
Online students keep their assigned device at home.
K-8th grade students use an Apple iPad. The specific model (currently a range of 5th through 8th gen) varies by grade level.
9th-12th grade students use a MacBook Air. The specific model varies by grade level. The curriculum includes a number of classes that use products such as Adobe digital design software (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Lightroom, etc.). Other software is comparable on Mac and PC platforms, such as Microsoft Office, Google Apps, and programs related to assessment. PCs with comparable technical specifications (such as power, battery life, weight) can end up costing just as much as a MacBook. Chromebooks were also considered, and while they are less expensive they do not tend to hold up as well over time and would only handle a fraction of the software we use daily throughout the curriculum.
iPads are used in grades K-8 (and also show up in early childhood classrooms). The choice of iPads basically comes down to the wide variety of apps available and the ability to establish a common set of apps that fit the curriculum wile also being able to acquire apps for specific needs. An example would be GarageBand for music classes. The iPads have a reasonable price point, can make it through a school day when fully charged, and satisfy the majority of our curriculum-related needs.
For what we are doing in the district, the iPads and MacBooks meet the majority of our day to day curriculum needs. Still, we do maintain smaller fleets of PCs and Chromebooks for some specific needs where they may be better suited.
PCs: The majority of student contact with PCs occurs in classrooms using the Project Lead the Way curriculum. This program uses a highly specific set of software that is currently written primarily (but not exclusively) for PCs running Windows. It is likely that a larger portion of the Project Lead the Way curriculum will be available for MacBooks over the next few years, so the number of PCs in the district will start to decline as that happens.
Chromebooks: Chromebooks are fairly inexpensive and are a convenient device for word processing, typing practice, certain web-based activities, and standardized assessments. We will maintain a small fleet of Chromebooks for those purposes mostly throughout the K-8 buildings.
