A long time, in tech news!
I continue to use the MacBook Pro I purchased in 2010 for my graduate studies. It continues to work well and, with a few updated parts (more RAM, and soon a new battery), should provide solid performance for my currently minimal needs for several more years. I carry it back and forth to school on occasion, and hook it up to the desktop I use to project data in front of the class. I write lesson plans on it, connect to the internet from home to log into the school's GoogleApps account so I don't need to remember to share everything via email or lose material on a thumbdrive. I cannot vouch for newer versions, or the "Air" models (which I admit the weight is appealing...). But for me, this is one of the better products I have owned. I haven't really used it for video editing, sound/music purposes, or other high-powered applications, though I keep hoping to have both time and energy. I would buy Apple again if I needed something they provide.
I use my ipad at home and at school daily. I use it for a timer, to randomly pick student names, occasionally to supplement instruction with specific apps I have acquired for my students, and to play music and videos for the students as well as to photograph their work, scan "bubble sheet" style assessments, and use the magical app "Plickers" to quickly check the whole class for understanding of concepts.
I find the classroom's document camera to be a little fidgety, and I wish I could upgrade. The current model is several years old, and lacks some functionality that I could use daily: the ability to raise the lens even higher to project an "establishing shot" of sorts on larger materials such as maps and books, then use the regular zoom so the kids can read the text. Right now, the only way to do this is to take a photo, upload it to the computer and then project it. It can zoom in bigger, but a full page of text is always cut off.
I wish the projector itself had a brighter, crisper picture. I don't know how expensive these projectors really are, when I look for them online they seem to cost upwards of a thousand -- but I know for sure that I shouldn't have to turn out the lights in the classroom for the image to be bright enough to see; and the text should be more crisp, easily seen from the back of the room. It may be something as simple as needing a new bulb, but I know those are also insanely expensive.
There are two printers I can access at school -- an old laser printer that is supposed to serve multiple classrooms (it's right outside my door though, so easy for me to grab materials quickly); and a color laser printer in the computer room which is still relatively close, but I am reluctant to use it often because of the cost of ink. I can print as many pages as I need on the standard office copier in the staff room, or on the "Gestettner" (?) printer that uses a liquid process so it's really best for single-sided copies, but can take thicker paper such as construction paper.
At home, our printer is a Brother color laser, which I use as needed to create and print student materials as well as items for our home. Most of the time though, Tom prefers to use paperless documents for recipes, banking, etc. So mostly I am the one who prints things.
At home, we replaced the large Vizio TV from before the fire with an even larger one -- It is very clear and very bright. I can see remarkably small details from about 15 feet away, even with my strange eye defect. I wonder if schools will start using flatscreen TVs instead of projectors and screens. It is expensive, but if it works better for students, perhaps so? I can connect my computer to the TV relatively easily, and the ipad that I use as well.
I am not in a school with a large surplus of funds for tech, but they are doing their best. We have some computer carts for Chromebooks so we can accommodate the several hundred students who take the now-mandatory computerized versions of the state tests each year. The rest of the year, we use them to help the kids get used to using the devices. I have had my students practice all year long using just the trackpads, so if the mouse fails, the student can continue testing. We'll be testing in the regular classroom, so it will be very important to be able to flexibly accommodate tech issues!
There is only one smartboard that I know of in the school, and that is in the computer classroom. We also have some ipads available -- one cart for the upper grades to share, and a few in each of the primary classrooms. "High tech" our school is not... but we are able to do a lot with the materials we have.
A far bigger issue is the alluring promise that more tech will automatically result in students who understand more and can do even better. This is nonsense, if the developmentally appropriate curriculum isn't there... so the tech that supports and enhances instruction can be useful, but I hope no one will lose sight of the real purpose of an education and the still-valid need for hands-on, experiential learning!
