<p>Schools that provide each student with a laptop computer, as well as appropriate support for both students and teachers, see significant improvement in academic achievement, a new US study has found.<br /><br /></p>.<p>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.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />In addition to improved scores on standardised tests, the benefits of successful laptop programmes include an improved writing process, they said.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />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."<br /><br />Knowing the general impact of these programmes can help school districts better shape their technology policies, said researchers.<br /><br />The findings were published in the journal Review of Educational Research.</p>
<p>Schools that provide each student with a laptop computer, as well as appropriate support for both students and teachers, see significant improvement in academic achievement, a new US study has found.<br /><br /></p>.<p>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.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />In addition to improved scores on standardised tests, the benefits of successful laptop programmes include an improved writing process, they said.<br /><br />"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.<br /><br />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."<br /><br />Knowing the general impact of these programmes can help school districts better shape their technology policies, said researchers.<br /><br />The findings were published in the journal Review of Educational Research.</p>