When you start teaching online, your laptop becomes your most essential piece of classroom equipment. Having the best laptops for teachers will make your lessons run smoothly and ensure that your students have the best virtual learning experience possible. In today’s digital world, most schools no longer maintain essential data (such as grades) in paper form stored away in heavy files. It’s critical for teachers to stay up with the shift toward digital learning being made by online learning management systems like Canvas or Schoolloop. One essential tool for doing this is having one’s own laptop.
Teachers need a laptop that can run all day, function quickly, and work without causing them a headache. This laptop should be able to link to the projector to present slides or movies and help them to develop their own worksheets and class materials. All of that is done by the models that are listed in this manual.
Brief Summary
- If your school uses GSuite or Google Classroom, or if you mostly use web-based services that don’t require installation, the Google Pixelbook Go i5 Chromebook is a wonderful option. It is also portable and lightweight.
- For teachers who need to install some programmes but don’t want to store a lot of data on their hard drive, the Lenovo Ideapad 330 is the ideal choice. You won’t have any trouble connecting to other classroom technology because it offers excellent connectivity.
- 2020 HP 14 Laptop Compute: If you require a reasonably priced computer with a respectable amount of power and storage, this offers the best technical specifications and is a solid option. A USB-C port and other contemporary features are also present.
Who Is This For?
Laptops for teachers must be specific. You don’t necessarily need the most advanced model with the most cutting-edge graphics and CPU chip, but you do need a computer that will last a long time and withstand regular use.
Your demands are also influenced by the type of class you teach. An English or elementary school teacher, for instance, could simply need a Chromebook that can run online applications, but a physics instructor in a college might need a Windows device that can run crucial simulations and do demonstrations.
Even non-teachers may benefit from some of the suggestions in this article, which will show you which laptop is the greatest fit for specific scenarios.
Best Laptops for Teachers: What You Should Look For
Operating System
The fastest approach to deciding what laptop to buy is by looking at the operating system. Unless your school is significantly dependent on Apple goods, the majority of teachers will prefer ChromeOS or Windows. That’s because those two systems are more affordable and typically better suited to meet your demands. Even though Mac creates beautiful gadgets, Windows PCs provide many of the same features at a far lesser cost.
Technical Requirements and specifications
Don’t worry if phrases like CPU and RAM give you the shakes! Most teachers don’t need laptops with high-end specifications. A few fundamental characteristics are all you require. Look for 8GB of RAM first (lower is acceptable for Chromebooks). Second, the majority of CPU chips that aren’t more than a few years old ought to have sufficient memory and processing capacity to execute the apps you want.
Resolution and Size
Finally, choose a laptop that is the appropriate size for you. While a modest 12″ screen might be uncomfortable to stare at for prolonged periods of time, a 17″ monster won’t be particularly portable. Additionally, make sure that the screen has a minimum 1080p resolution since it helps provide the best clarity.
Best Laptops for Teachers: Top picks in 2022
Apple MacBook Pro – 16 inches – 16 GB RAM
In this case, it isn’t about whether or not a Mac will be effective for video editing, but a matter of how much power you really need.
If you just plan on doing minor work for youtube, you won’t be troubled by extensive renders or clamoring for screen restate, so it doesn’t make sense to pay for specs built for something ten times as processor-intensive.
Truly a top-of-the-line machine, this MacBook Pro model was built for precision and nothing less. The 8-core i9 processor can stand up to just about anything you throw at it, it has a powerful graphics card UHD Graphics 630. The 16″ screen offers some more real estate than the smaller 13″ models
What we like
- It has nearly unbeatable power between the mix of RAM, dGPU, and processor.
- The beautiful screen will produce accurate colors and the touch bar will allow you to work even more effectively in your favorite editing prograWhat we
What we dislike
- When editing professionally, you need all the screen space you can get
- No size laptop is going to be able to offer that.
Google Pixelbook Go i5 Chromebook 8GB/128GB Just Black
The Pixelbook Go is a device that is truly amazing. It includes a textured bottom to prevent slipping, a crisp screen, and blazingly quick reaction times. It is available in black and rose. With a weight of little under two pounds, it is incredibly portable and even includes a touchscreen. ChromeOS is efficient and speedy. It has an i5 Intel CPU and 8GB of RAM.
What we like:
- Beautiful, well-made PC with a stylish, practical design.
- Runs ChromeOS, which is excellent for educators who just need to utilise online applications like Google Drive and Google Docs
- 8GB RAM
- an i5 processor
- 128GB of SSD space
What we dislike:
- Not enough storage
- There are only two type-C plugs in the ports, so if you want to use HDMI or USB-A, you’ll need an adaptor.
Lenovo Ideapad 330
The 15″ Ideapad 330 is prepared to go to class every day with you. Its inconspicuous exterior conceals 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and an AMD CPU that can handle numerous tasks at once without experiencing any lag. A second monitor with a resolution of up to 4K is also supported using the HDMI connector. The graphics will be vivid whether you connect to a projector or your PC at work. An SD card reader, disc drive, ethernet, and two USB-A 3.0 slots are additional ports.
What we like:
- Using a large screen is practical and easy to observe.
- Abundance of connectivity options
- SSD hard drive boots up far more quickly than a conventional hard disc.
What we dislike:
- 5 hours is a rather brief battery life.
- approximately 5 pounds in weight
2020 HP 14 Laptop Computer
This model is unquestionably in line with HP’s reputation for durable, tried-and-true machines. The unusual 14″ screen size of this device offers a middle ground between the regular 15.6″ screen, which some people may find to be too bulky, and the little 13″ screen, which is frequently too small. It has an 8GB RAM configuration and an Intel 10th generation CPU. The biggest SSD storage of all the laptops on our list, it contains 512GB as well.
What we like:
- For people who can’t bear tiny screens, medium-sized design is a fantastic compromise.
- The 10th generation i5 CPU will perform well for a long period without feeling sluggish or jerky..
- A lot of storage is excellent, especially if you want to store films or schoolwork on your hard disc.
- There are USB-C, USB-A (2), HDMI, and an SD reader as ports.
What we dislike:
- It comes pre-installed with Windows 10 in S mode, which forbids the installation of third-party applications.
Tips & Tricks (that are actually useful and aren’t clickbait)
Even tutors are not fans of worksheets. Thankfully, there is a tonne of online tools available to assist you in avoiding falling into a rabbit hole of useless websites. Some of our favourites are listed here:
- The website Khan Academy offers teachers free instructional videos, practice material, and classroom management tools.
- You may design live tests of knowledge with Socrative. As a result, you may receive immediate feedback on the classes for the day without berating any particular pupils or wasting time hand-grading.
- Even if you don’t have any programming knowledge, Codecademy helps you teach it in your classroom. Additionally, it aids children in developing other crucial abilities like abstract thought and problem-solving.
- Edtech tools for instructors are another great option.
How much RAM does a teacher need?
To get the best performance out of your laptop, we recommend at least 8GB of DDR4 RAM.
What processor is best for online teaching?
Your computer has at least a 1 Ghz processor and a minimum of 256 MB of Ram
Conclusion
It’s critical to keep updated as our world transitions to one that is increasingly digital. While adopting technology might be challenging, the appropriate laptop makes the process easy and pleasant rather than irritating. We hope that by helping you focus your search and identify a laptop that is a fantastic fit for you, our recommendations can make your life a little bit easier.