Laptops are playing a significant role in the life of those who are using it. Laptops are easily moveable and that is the best advantage of using laptops. You can complete your tasks on time with the help of laptops, no matter where you are. Laptops enable the users to do research, complete an assignment and take a class sitting anywhere in the world. If you are looking for the most suitable laptop for your teaching life, then this article of best laptops for teachers will be helping you.
Earlier teachers had to go to the classes and teach many students at a time. It was really complicated to see everyone’s progress or issues by the teacher during the class time. Sometimes even students were not comfortable to communicate with the teacher in person. There were many constraints playing at the back.
Now, we are seeing the revolutionary changes in the 21st century and globalization has been impacted a lot by the technologies like laptops. Technologies made everything easier and that’s why there is no barrier among the users of technologies. Technologies help both teachers and students to learn many things outside the classrooms. Teachers used to have some classes where they will be showing some videos by using laptops, thus the usage of laptops for studying had increased. That is when the laptops start to acquire momentum.
Contents
About the Usage of Laptops in Teaching:
Earlier teaching was totally focused in a classroom. After the invention of computers and the precise use of the computers also, teaching wasn’t that much close to the technologies. In the last 10 years, the usage of technologies for teaching increased in a huge scale.
Teachers can easily take and conduct classes for the students of other countries as well. They can communicate with many students within a short time. The Teachers can conduct live classes for their students and the recordings help to reach more students. The recorded videos of teaching actually helps a lot. Teachers can assign the tasks to their students via email and other media. Students can complete their assignments by using the internet and global resources. Internet plays an important role here.
These things took a distinctive shape after the attack of Covid’19. The whole world got stuck. At that time, the value of online teaching had increased and since then we have been seeing how online teaching is taking place throughout the whole world. Starting from the kindergarten to the post graduate degree, online teaching has been taking place. Now students don’t have to travel and waste money, they can easily take the courses from their desired universities and complete them online without any hindrance.
The Features You should look at:
Laptops are now one of the daily necessities as almost everything is conducted online. Everyday teachers and students are learning new things by using laptops. There are so many features and unknown things in the laptops. As everyone is exploring the information, they are knowing what is the best option.
Having a laptop won’t be sufficient to do online teaching properly. There are other factors playing a huge role in the deliberation of the lecture properly by using the laptops. That’s why the important factors should be checked to provide the best lectures to the students without any disruptions.
The best laptops for teachers should be the upgraded version with all the required facilities to conduct classes properly. Beginning from the operating system to the options for using ports, play significant role in deliberating the lectures properly for both the teachers and the students.
Minimum Requirements of Best Laptops for Teachers
The minimum requirements for having the best teaching experience by using laptops are given below:
- CPU: Core i5 processor or faster
- RAM: 8 GB
- SSD Storage: 128 GB
- Screen: 13.3 Inch HD screen
- Battery Backup: Minimum 4 hours
- GPU: Discrete Graphics with HD 615
- Weight: 3 kilograms
The above mentioned requirements will give you the minimum satisfaction after using it almost daily for teaching purpose. If you want something extra-ordinary to make your teaching experience more valuable, you can go for the requirements given below.
- CPU: Core i7 Processor
- RAM: 16 GB
- SSD Storage: 512 GB
- Screen: 15.6 Inch screen size
- Battery Backup: Minimum 8 Hours
- GPU: Discrete UHD 620
- Weight: 2 kilograms
The strain that comes with running multiple apps should be managed by the CPU. In order to handle multiple programs that run concurrently, the RAM will have to have enough capacity. The GPU is devoted exclusively to smooth graphics. A mix of both SSD and HDD should be the storage. SSD is mainly for OS and device files, while other files and other items are saved by HDD.
5 Best Laptops for Teaching
1. Apple MacBook Air (Best Portability) – Best Laptops for Teachers
Apple MacBook Air is more portable and the price is reasonable. If you have to travel while taking classes you can do that easily because of the powerful battery. The storage can also be good enough for recording and saving everything on the laptop. The HD camera will help to provide better quality while giving lectures and the audio quality is good too.
Key Features:
- It has 1.1 GHz Dual core 10th generation Intel core i3 processor accompanied by turbo boost up to 3.2 GHz.
- The screen display is 13.3 inch and it is LED backlit retina display.
- The graphics is Intel Iris plus graphics.
- Battery has the power to perform up to 12 hours.
- The storage is 256 GB (SSD).
- It has touch ID and the weight is 1.29 kilogram.
PROS:
- Well performed battery
- Easily portable
- Price is reasonable
CONS:
- Core i3 Processor
- The storage is only 256GB
2. Apple MacBook Pro (Best Investment) – Best Laptops for Teachers
The 2020 MacBook Pro by Apple is the best MacBook series with good features. It is a laptop that is suitable for anyone to use for any purpose. This is the best laptop for the video quality which is inevitable for the teachers. The display works well with a good color quality. Due to the powerful battery, you can easily do that if you have to travel while taking classes. The storage is also good enough for recording everything and to function properly.
Key Features:
- It has 2.0 GHz Quad core 10th generation Intel core i5 processor accompanied by turbo boost up to 3.8 GHz.
- The screen display is 13.3 inches and the LED retina display is backlit.
- Intel Iris plus Graphics 645 is the graphics.
- The battery has the capacity to run for up to 10 hours.
- 1TB of storage is (SSD).
- Both Touch Bar and touch ID is on it and the weight is 1.4 kilograms.
PROS:
- Well performed battery
- Can be easily carried
- Processing speed is high
- Storage is enough
CONS:
- Ports are less
- Price is too high
3. Samsung Galaxy Book Flex (Best Display) – Best Laptops for Teachers
Samsung Galaxy Book Flex has core i7 processor which ensures the laptops’ functioning capacity will be too good and fast. You can use it with the help of Bluetooth pen whenever you need. The Wi-Fi speed capacity is also very good for this laptop. The storage ensures the laptop will be functioning well for a long time. Battery life of the laptop is more powerful compared to the other ones. The audio quality and the display is very good. The QLED display will give you the best experience while using the laptop.
Key Features:
- It has 1.3 GHz CPU speed with 10th generation Intel core i7-1065G7 processor.
- The screen display size is 13.3 inches with the display quality of 1920*1080 and it is QLED display.
- The graphics is integrated graphics.
- Battery has the power to perform up to 20 hours.
- The storage is 512 GB (SSD) and the RAM is 8 GB.
- It is touch screen laptop and the operation system is Windows 10 Home.
- It has a Bluetooth pen and the weight of the laptop is 4lbs.
PROS:
- Equipped battery
- Portable and best to carry anywhere
- Availability of fingerprint scanner
CONS:
- Screen ratio is 16:9
- The screen resolution is not up to the mark
4. ASUS ZenBook Duo UX481 (Most Unique) – Best Laptops for Teachers
Asus ZenBook DuoUX481 is a laptop with the windows 10 pro operation system. The laptop has the powerful battery which will work up to 10 hours. The display quality is well performed and the laptop is easily portable. The higher configurations will help the teachers explore more of the laptop and will give more interests to the teachers, to work more efficiently. The Wi-Fi speed capacity is good and has different ports.
Key Features:
- The laptop has the latest 10th generation Intel core i7-10510U processor with the boost up to 4.9 GHz accompanied by NVIDIA GeForce MX250.
- The display size is 14 inches full HD quality.
- Storage capacity of the laptop is too fast and 1TB PCIE (SSD) is the storage along with 16GB RAM.
- The keyboard is backlit.
- The laptop weighs only 3.53lbs.
- It has touch display and the operation system is Windows 10 pro.
PROS:
- The bright 14 inch matt panel
- Robust results
- Long lifetime of batteries
- New Screen Pad display
CONS:
- Thicker and heavier than other laptops
- Can create problems while using awkwardly positioned keyboard
- No Ports for Thunderbolt 3
5. Microsoft Surface Pro 7 (Best for Art Classes) – Best Laptops for Teachers
Microsoft surface 7 pro gives better performance than the earlier laptops of Microsoft series. The laptop offers more USB ports which will help the teachers work more efficiently by connecting to needed device at a time. The keyboard is strongly built which will help to work more effectively. The battery life is durable, thus teachers can easily move and take classes at the same time.
Key Features:
- The laptop has 10th generation Intel core i7, core i5 and core i3 processors.
- The laptop with core i5 processor unit has the storage capacity of 8GB RAM and 128 GB (SSD).
- The display size is 12.3inches and the display is touch display.
- The graphics is Intel Iris Plus graphics.
- The operating system is windows 10 home.
- The laptop weighs only 1.10lbs.
- The laptop is built strongly with a high end keyboard.
- The battery life is powerful which lasts long for 10.5 hours.
PROS:
- The CPU is faster
- Durable battery
- Has USB-C port
- Keyboard helps to cover the display
- Strongly built
CONS:
- Can create problems due to the fan less structure
- Absence of Thunderbolt 3 port
- The design is not updated
Testing Criteria:
Testing criteria gives the guidelines to follow before buying one laptop for teaching.
CPU
The CPU is the first and foremost thing to check before buying the laptop. The reason behind checking the CPU is that your working capacity will depend on the CPU. If the CPU is not up to the level then you won’t get the proper satisfaction using the laptop. This can cause a huge problem in your teaching journey as now everything is related to online. That’s why you need to buy the best and suitable CPU within your budget.
GPU
GPU or the Graphics Processing Unit has become one of the most important factors for the computers or the laptops. The GPUs of the laptops basically help to unlock the potentials of the artificial intelligence. For teaching if you want to create content then GPU should be focused while choosing your preferred laptops.
Webcam
As you will be creating videos and conducting classes online, webcam should be checked too. The built-in camera should have a good resolution, so that the recordings and the live classes are clearly visible without any disruption. If your webcam is the good one, then your students will be able to see you properly without any hindrance. On the contrary if the webcam doesn’t give proper resolution then your work will be hampered. That’s why an external camera should be kept in case of emergency. The webcam should have the ability to provide decent resolution for the images.
Memory
The memory lets you manage multiple simultaneous running software. That’s why you need to check the RAM size before choosing a laptop for you. You will be doing many things at the same time and if the RAM size is not good enough then your work will be hindered. You need to have 8 GB of memory, at least. This is the minimum requirement to run many software at a time. 16GB is recommended for having the better results without any issue. Normally, anything over 16 GB will be too much. For all the works of yours, DDR3 (Double data rate three) is a good option. However, DDR3 can be upgraded into DDR4 (double data rate fourth). DDR4 are costlier than DDR3 and give better results compared to DDR3.
Storage
As the price of SSDs has fallen, switching entirely from HDD to SSD is becoming increasingly preferable. But, right now, it’s preferred to have both of these types in a combination. SSD gives you fast access to any files. It is recommended, therefore, for OS and device files. But for other files HDD can be used too. That is why an HDD is enough for those other files.
Battery
Batteries play an essential role if you are teaching from somewhere without any electricity. Some laptops have high power batteries and the performance of the battery actually depends on the use of your laptop. A fair amount of backup is needed from your laptop. You should have a good battery backup if you travel a lot and need to film, view, or edit lectures on the way. While many buyers tend to forget this portion of the laptop, it is necessary for those who do not expect themselves to be at the same place always.
Screen Size, Ports and Audio
Screen size is a matter of concern as you are going to teach a lot of students. You can choose your preferred screen size for your convenience. Ports are another essential factors, you might have to use different things while conducting the lectures and that’s why ports are important to look at. Audio should be checked as well. Perfect audio facilities will help you to deliver the lectures in an effective manner.
Price
The laptop’s price depends on what’s inside it. The laptop’s necessary requirements are decided by what you do with the laptop. So, the price depends on your other activities while you are teaching. Since the desired laptops have to be fitted with heavy hardware, there is no cheap laptop with the configurations.
Conclusion of best laptops for teachers:
In the 21st century we are using all the technologies for our convenience. Everything comes with both pros and cons including the mobile phones, personal computers and the laptops. You can pick the most suitable laptop for you depending on the features you are looking for teaching.
The market is loaded with a huge quantity of laptops. Every laptop has different advantages and disadvantages. The above listed laptops are some of the best and suitable laptops for teaching. However the choice is yours. You know your preferred configurations and the budget to buy the best laptop for you.
As online teaching has become one of the regular events since 2020 and will continue for the upcoming future as it has got many advantages. Hoping that you will get to choose the best laptop for your online teaching journey.
Final Words for best laptops for teachers:
Teaching life doesn’t only contain conducting the classes but also the other things. A teacher has to make lesson plans, prepare class materials, make questions and find answers, grade the student’s papers etc. Now we are seeing that everything is done online in case of teaching, which includes preparing class materials, creating lesson plans, making questions and everything.
To do the following tasks a teacher mostly rely on the device he or she is using. The device helps to keep record of all the needed information for having a balanced life. Thus, the best laptop will help the teacher to do everything smoothly without any disruptions.
As we have already mentioned the five best laptops for teachers, we want to say that different teachers have different expectations according to their work life. Thus they will follow the configurations and the performance criteria of a laptop on the basis of their needs.
For example, for an art teacher the “Microsoft Surface Pro 7” will be the best option. The reason is that the available features of the laptop is best for conducting the art classes online.
On the contrary an English teacher might find the “Samsung Galaxy Book Flex” as the best option for his or her online teaching journey. The reason is that he or she can take longer classes with the durable battery without any disturbance.
Moreover, if a teacher looks for the best laptop with all the required configurations at any price then “Apple MacBook Pro” will be the best option. Though the laptop will cost a little bit more than the other laptops but this will be regarded as the best investment. The portable laptop has all configurations ensuring the best laptops for the teachers.
Average Rating