I just finished the latest episode of MPU and I want to commend you both. For making a valiant attempt to remain unbiased in your discussion of the iPad. 
IMO, if everyone would just “buy an iPad for what it can do now”, there would be a lot less people complaining about it. And while Apple would be making less money from their sale, because they would be selling fewer “Pro” models, I think the number of iPads sold would remain high.
Really enjoyed this episode because I find iPads kind of amazing. I tend to be in the group that uses them for consumption mainly, rather than working on them. But even that can involve reading, listening and watching work-related stuff, so it can’t be pigeonholed into a for-pleasure-only device. I think they are a great value! Recently, I repurposed a 10-year-old mini to run all day as a Syncthing hub.
Two comments: First about leaving ipad screen on all the time when used as a family display device. Get a cheap, used iPad so you won’t care if it dies.
Second, I use an ipad the way Sparky does, as a Sidecar device. Especially good for delivering presentations. I use Keynote and place the speaker notes on the ipad, positioned so the text is as close as possible to the camera. Works great and audience sees good eye contact.
My only problem is that ipad connection via Sidecar is iffy. Sometimes it’s really hard to get it to stay connected. Restarting both devices usually works. Other times it just works. I don’t know why.
I think the big thing you missed about the iPad Pro is the role of the Apple Pencil. The iPad Pro is a game changer for anyone who annotates and highlights PDFs (lawyers, researchers, etc.) - the combination of screen size and the Pencil is critical to that kind of workflow - highlighting with a trackpad or mouse on a MacBook doesn’t even come close.
PDF markup was the primary reason I bought my current large iPad, with image editing a secondary purpose.
This episode reminded me that I bought my 12.9” ipad Pro and a digital piano years ago to take piano lessons…which I haven’t done once. The piano looks nice, though!
I agree with @rolian and @Medievalist — I think the annotation capabilities of the iPad Pro are second to none.
As a teacher, I find the Apple Pencil and iPad indispensable both in and out of the classroom. In class, I often walk around with a PDF on my iPad while students review a printed version; I annotate texts linked to ongoing projects; and I keep resources at hand—or with an iPad mini, even in my back pocket. Outside the classroom, I use the iPad for marking student work and annotating academic texts.
That said, the recent MPU episodes about going “back to the Mac” resonated with me. When the iPad Pro first gained external display support, I experimented with going iPad-only on campus, using a Mac at home. I also leaned toward apps that worked similarly on both platforms: For example, replacing Keyboard Maestro automations with Shortcuts.
Eventually, I accepted (embraced?) that some workflows are just better on the Mac, and trying to replicate them on the iPad isn’t worth the effort. Upgrading from a MacBook Air M1 to an M4 Mac mini in January also nudged me further toward a Mac-centric setup, as the transition gave me a chance to reevaluate some of my workflows.
To state the obvious: It turns out that embracing the strengths of each device has been more productive than trying to maintain parity across all devices. (Also, as noted in the episode, different iPad devices have their own strengths: I don’t like walking around the classroom holding a 12.9" iPad, but I do like that size for marking papers, and a mini is just the right size for reading on the train.)
My only problem is that ipad connection via Sidecar is iffy. Sometimes it’s really hard to get it to stay connected. Restarting both devices usually works. Other times it just works. I don’t know why.
I’ve noticed two issues with Sidecar: 1. It doesn’t work if you enable a VPN and 2. it also doesn’t work if you use Continuity Camera with an iPhone.
This latter issue was a problem for me as I set up my desk with an iPad Pro on a VESA arm, intending to use it, among other purposes, as a reference monitor during Zoom meetings. Since I was using my iPhone as a webcam via Continuity Camera, I quickly discovered that you can’t use Sidecar to extend your Mac display to the iPad while Continuity Camera is active. I can’t recall whether it simply stopped working or showed an error message.
As someone who, from time-to-time, contemplates teaching as a second career, I’d be curious how you use your iPad in/around the classroom. You touch on it a bit in this post, which I found super interesting. It seems like you’ve found a balance in your classroom on using technology to help you, but not letting it “take over” or becoming the whole point.
Anyway, would love to hear if you have more to share!
I used mine to show images, play audio, and sometimes show short videos, and very rarely, Keynote presentations, using the classromm projection stystem.
For writing intensive classs, I used my iPad to demonstrate revision, talking about what I was doing as I did it.
I use my iPad mini to evaluate negative film before selecting images for scanning and printing, using the “Classic inverse” setting. Using inverse and a light table allows you to see a positive view of a Negative image.
Everything that @Medievalist mentioned applies to me as well—though I probably use presentations more frequently. I really like iA Presenter for quickly putting together minimalist slides. (There’s also an iOS beta version.)
A few other things I use regularly:
- Drafts is central to my workflow: I use it for lesson plans, classroom notes, and checklists—for example, logging which students did or didn’t participate in a particular activity. Its companion app, Tally, is great for that kind of quick tracking.
- I also use Drafts to take notes during student speaking assessments. Since it’s Markdown-based, I can write the feedback directly in the format I’ll later export via iA Presenter into a polished PDF for the student.
- For general logging, notes, links, references, resources—things that come up during class—I use Craft (which is free for educators) to maintain a web-based shared document for students, and since my notes are in Markdown, it’s easy to copy/paste from Drafts into that shared space. For content I post to our LMS (Canvas), I copy as rich text or HTML from Drafts and.
- When it comes to materials I teach repeatedly, I keep annotated PDFs of readings. I can open these on my iPad to quickly review what I thought about last time. In fact, most of my teaching materials exist as PDFs of “my version,” accessible via cloud storage or DEVONthink on my iPad.
While a laptop can handle many of these tasks, the iPad offers a kind of mobility that suits the classroom—I can carry it in my hand or keep it by my side in a way that’s more natural than using a laptop.
There’s probably more I’m forgetting, but those are the main ways I use it.
That’s a super informative writeup — thanks so much! I think it’s really interesting to see the different places you’ve been able to work the iPad into your processes!
One mostly iPad-specific feature I neglected to mention that I rely on for teaching is a custom Focus Mode. I have “Teaching 1” and “Teaching 2” Focus Modes—one for each course I’m teaching (I never teach more than two courses at once). Each Focus Mode silences most notifications and sets a dedicated Home Screen with the apps and Shortcuts I need for that class. Setting this up at the start of the semester saves time every day. When I walk into the classroom and unlock my iPad, everything I need—notes, tools, references—is ready to go.
Thanks but neither of those apply to me. Guess my issue is unique and I’ll have to troubleshoot. Thank you for trying.
What a great idea! I’m going to have to steal this one — especially as I’ll be teaching three different classes in the fall. (Usually when I have a three-class semester two of them are sections of the same course.)
I use my iPad every day for a number of purposes. Instead of repeating it all here, see my recent blog post if you’re interested in the details of how I use it:
Nice write-up! Two quick questions: what size iPad are you using, and what writing app do you use (I’m sure you have mentioned before, but I don’t recall. 
).
PS: I also appreciated your notation regarding the use of AI. 
Thank you for nice comment!
I primarily use an 11" iPad Pro. I also have a 13", but I use it connected to my Mac. I tried an iPad mini, but the screen was too small for my older eyes. To me, the 11" is the perfect balance between big enough to use and comfortable to hold and carry around.
I’ve used Ulysses as my blog writing app for several years. I value the way it publishes directly to my WordPress website. I used to subscribe to it with a military (educational) discount, but now I use it as a part of Setapp.
Jim