Middle and high schools in Maine are returning their iPads and switching back to laptops after a survey found that 88.5 percent of teachers and 74 percent of students in one district preferred laptops for schoolwork and instruction, reports the Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal.
The state education department and Apple are offering a swap deal at no additional cost. The deal follows the results of a survey given to Auburn district students and teachers in grades 7-12, conducted by the district’s technology director, Peter Robinson, according to Hot HardWare.
Robinson said after seeing the success with iPads in primary grades three years ago, he thought iPads were “absolutely the right choice,” but has since realized that they have shortcomings for older students. Students and teachers felt that iPads are often used to play games in class, while laptops allow students to do more for schoolwork and are better devices for coding and programming, for example.
