Too bad the article does not really go in the insights as to why the IPads are being replaced by something else. It's just being hinted, but that's the main point they should have focused on the article.
-lack of keyboard
-perceived as more of a game device than a work device
-inferior cloud capabilities to a Chromebook (harder to issue replacement device)
-harder to use with some educational web applications
-cost
I never really understood the "tablets for schools" thing. Laptops are better on a desk than on a lap, whereas you might prefer a tablet when you don't have a desk: on the bus, on the couch, in bed...
Maybe we just need more laptops with touchscreens.
I'm probably very old school (no word pun intended :) ) but I still don't really get much of why you'd need a touchscreen in the first place. I don't see tons of people drawing with their ipads or on their laptop/tablets, most of the time you just use fingers as a mouse replacement - yeah, it's pretty useful for browsing, but for most of the other applications a touchscreen feels very much "nice to have", i.e. not necessary at all. But again, I'm not in the target population.
A USB/Bluetooth mouse can be helpful, but there are many situations where that is inconvenient.
That said, if you are a wiz with keyboard shortcuts it won't make much of a difference. But most people aren't.
As for laptops that can transform into tablets, I guess this makes more sense to have touch-screen anyway.
By the way are you saying that you can not type in class using a keyboard? Is there a reason for that?
I can type in class if I wanted too (Though, typing it a bit loud, it'd be kinda annoying for my other class-mates). The issue is actually entering in my notes. For example, this summer I took Linear Algebra, and most of the class involves lots and lots of matrices. It's easy to write them on paper, but setting up the formatting correctly to have something readable on the computer is easier said then done. There were also a few classes where we had examples involving drawing two ovals next to each-other with dots inside and then drawing lines between the dots. I'd simply be fussing with my computer to much to actually pay attention and get all the information down when trying to draw out stuff like that. Using a simple notepad is just hands-down better. A tablet interface with a pen would be perfect though, because I could write all my notes down just like a note-pad into the computer, and then go back and reorganize them fairly easily.
I'd rather just buy a laptop that can fold into a tablet because I have no real need or want to have two separate devices considering I probably won't use tablet mode that much.
Also harder to share a single device among multiple users (related to the cost issue mentioned already) since unlike Chromebooks or most traditional laptops, iOS devices seem unlikely to ever support real multiple-user usage with profiles, logins and everything else.
... on the floor, in the hallway, working with a group where you're passing work samples around. All use cases I regularly saw with my 4th graders last year.
That said, for the cost of iPads for one classroom the previous year, we got enough chromebooks for the whole grade level last year. Cost is a huge factor, particularly in a school like mine (97% free/reduced lunch; surplus budget was hard to come by.)
The "open facing the teacher" seems strange, but it was incredibly useful because the teacher could quickly verify that all the students were looking at the right thing. It seemed like they turned their computers around 7 times during the class, and so it has the added benefit of not letting them screw around on the laptops.
I don't know if this is standard practice, but it worked well, and would be more cumbersome with a tablet.