Buying Laptops Is the Easy Part

Devices alone don’t improve learning. Here’s what schools need to get right once the laptops arrive

A school opens its new computer lab. Forty laptops, a big screen, fresh paint. Everyone is proud of it. A year later, the lab is used twice a week for typing practice, and students spend a good part of that time on games when the teacher isn’t looking

The laptops weren’t the problem. The plan for using them was

Devices can distract as easily as they teach

In the OECD’s PISA 2022 study, 65% of 15-year-olds said they got distracted by digital devices in at least some maths lessons. Students distracted by others’ devices scored noticeably lower. Technology helps when it’s used on purpose, and gets in the way when it isn’t

Students distracted by digital devices in maths lesson

Distracted by using device themselves
Distracted by other student using devices

More devices doesn’t mean more learning

UNESCO’s 2023 report points to Peru, where over a million laptops were handed out without being built into how teachers taught. Learning didn’t improve. The lesson is simple: devices are a tool, not a strategy

What to plan before you buy

What will students actually do on these devices, and in which subjects? How will teachers manage screens during a lesson? How will work done on a device be saved, marked and shared with parents? And who fixes things when they break? Answer these first, and the devices will earn their place

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