Schools that provide their students with a laptop each and extend the required technological support to its teachers and students, give better academic results than schools that do not invest in technology, finds a new study.
Researchers analysed years of studies on “one-to-one” laptop programme, and found that such programmes that take a comprehensive approach were linked to higher test scores in English, math, science and writing, along with other benefits.
“In the past couple decades, one-to-one laptop programmes have spread widely, but so has debate about whether they are cost-effective and beneficial to educational outcomes,” said Binbin Zheng from Michigan State University in the US.
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“I believe this technology, if implemented correctly, is worth the cost and effort because it lifts student achievement, enhances engagement and enthusiasm among students, improves teacher-student relationships and promotes 21st century skills such as technological proficiency and problem solving,” said Zheng.
One-to-one laptop programmes, in which each student in a class, grade level, school or district gets a computer, can improve educational outcomes when there is teacher buy-in, suitable technical support and professional development for teachers, and appropriate implementation with the curriculum, researchers said.
{{/usCountry}}One-to-one laptop programmes, in which each student in a class, grade level, school or district gets a computer, can improve educational outcomes when there is teacher buy-in, suitable technical support and professional development for teachers, and appropriate implementation with the curriculum, researchers said.
{{/usCountry}}In addition to improved scores on standardised tests, the benefits of successful laptop programmes include an improved writing process, they said.
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“Students received more feedback on their writing, edited and revised their papers more often, drew on a wider range of resources to write and published or shared their work with others more often,” said Zheng.
Researchers reviewed nearly 100 academic studies on one-to-one laptop programmes dating back to 2001, although only 10 of the studies were scientifically rigorous enough to use in a statistical “meta-analysis.” Knowing the general impact of these programmes can help school districts better shape their technology policies, said researchers.
The findings were published in the journal Review of Educational Research.
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