Hi Jason,
I completely agree with you, that AR in the classroom seemed idealistic due to accessibility issues. Seeing that it can be achieved with the tools that in many schools, like the shared tablets you mentioned, was a hopeful realization that these kinds of in-class experiences can be available to all.
I do really appreciate you bringing the point up in your blog and in our pod meeting of teacher know-how and prep, though. You say that your “pessimist mind” was weighing the usefulness of AR tech in the classroom in comparison to the effort that goes into planning it, and that our pod meeting shifted this for you – I’m so glad we chatted about this aspect of it, because our group’s discussion had the opposite, but still positive, effect on me. My “optimist, but often not realistic” mind kept trying to come up with ways to incorporate more neat AR experiences into lessons, while completely downplaying the teacher prep side of things. This point was a useful reminder to not over-do it, for our and our students sake!