2020 is finally over! Teachers and administrators deserve unending praise from parents, students, and their local communities for making the year as normal as possible. Thank you!
From a technology perspective, this has been a year for all students to give distance learning a trial run. As schools made sure their students were able to continue their education from home, schools were purchasing technology devices of all types, from hotspots to Chromebooks.
So, what is the best device for students to use for both in-person and remote learning?
Back in 2016, the U.S. Department of Education released its first major update to the National Education Technology Plan (NETP). The second page of that plan had a graphic that stated the NETP is “Making Possible…Everywhere, All-the-Time Learning.”
If a school truly wants to provide students with devices that make everywhere, all-the-time learning possible, it would be ideal to purchase devices that can connect to the internet from anywhere, without additional hardware.
One option to meet this goal is an iPad with a cellular antenna built in. It raises the price from the standard iPad by $130, but it provides school districts flexibility, especially for those students who do not have internet at home. NOTE: If the school sells the device back in three years, the buyback price is $120 vs. the standard $100.
What sets a cellular iPad apart from other devices:
So, if you want to have the flexibility to provide students with devices that would allow them to learn from anywhere, consider purchasing iPads with cellular antennas.
As always, if you need any help with technology or just want to brainstorm ideas, reach out to the OPSRC tech team at techteam@opsrc.net.
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We will be seeing the first full-quarter numbers of Oklahoma’s new fiscal year over the next two weeks. One item that is extremely important is sales tax.
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