Should Schools Provide Laptops for Students?

Thu 04 July, 2019

Whether schools should provide laptops for students is an important issue that many are currently facing. Some schools and academies are dealing with budget cuts and must make strategic decisions about where to invest money.

We’re making the case that schools should invest in laptops for students, because they provide a number of key benefits for learning.


The benefits of providing laptops


No child is excluded for financial reasons

When schools ask children to complete work on their own devices, this can exclude those who cannot afford a laptop or tablet. With more and more work being completed online, it’s important that children are given equal opportunities to learn in the school environment.


Creates an interactive learning environment

The great thing about laptops which are provided by schools is that they are usually all connected and linked up to some kind of digital workspace. This means that children can all work together online and children from different classes and year groups can get involved. Ideas can be shared easily and teachers can give feedback instantly.


Children will become digitally literate

It’s important that we teach children about the digital world from an early age, as they will be growing up in it. While this includes using different programmes and tools, it will also consist of learning about online safety by using their laptops as guided by the teacher.


All work can be saved in the cloud

More schools than ever are choosing to move to the cloud, which is a simple and secure way of storing important information and learning resources. The work of children can be saved to the cloud, meaning that it can be viewed by multiple teachers, accessed by other children and, most importantly, protected against being lost.

If you rely on children to use their own laptops, it may not be the case that they are connected to the cloud. Even if they are, they likely won’t have access to your school’s secure cloud backup. When schools provide the laptops, their IT support can set up the necessary infrastructure.


Where to get laptops and tablets for schools


We would recommend sourcing any laptops from a certified school IT provider, as they can offer you all the support, as well as ensure that the infrastructure is properly set up. You can buy them in bulk elsewhere, but you might not get all the equipment and support that you need.


iPads for schools

At Soft Egg, we provide a complete iPad solution, which includes charging stations, pre-installed software and security measures to make them suitable for classroom use.


Chromebooks for education

Our Chromebooks service ensures that any devices you purchase are properly set up, integrated with your school infrastructure, and monitored on a regular basis.