5 Reasons 1:1 Teaching Environments Benefit Everyone

A student for every computer and a computer for every student. That’s the educational model behind one-to-one learning environments.

Edglossery.org applies the term one-to-one, “to programs that provide all students in a school, district or state with their own laptop, netbook, tablet computer or other mobile-computing device."

At a time when more than 1.2 billion children in 186 countries have been impacted by school closures and are learning from home, the initiative has never been more impactful.

Now that it’s an educational necessity, here’s how it’s continuing to improve education.

1:1 learning improves student engagement

Device distraction is a common complaint of school-aged learners. However when it comes to school, many 1:1 classrooms report higher overall engagement. Edtech makes material more interesting and relatable, allowing it to come alive before their eyes. Certain subjects also spur curiosity for others, creating a learning loop that simply isn’t possible by lecture alone.

According to the World Economic Forum, “some research shows that on average, students retain 25-60% more material when learning online compared to only 8-10% in a classroom.”

1:1 learning lets you tailor learning

There are as many different ways to learn as there are students. Such an individual process makes it difficult to universally teach the same material to an entire classroom of distinct learners. That is, unless each has access to their own school-issued device. Not only can they learn however makes the most sense for their young minds, they also have the opportunity to learn faster.

Again, the World Economic Forum, “e-learning requires 40-60% less time to learn than in a traditional classroom setting because students can learn at their own pace, going back and re-reading, skipping or accelerating through concepts as they choose.”

1:1 learning improves communication

Student-teacher communication is an important part of learning well. That’s true whether you’re working within or outside the classroom, yet it requires some nuance when learning at a distance. 1:1 teaching closes the communication gap, providing a strong feedback loop for teachers to give verbal or real-time reactions to student assignments.

1:1 learning lets you get creative with teaching

Creative teaching encourages creative learning. 1:1 classrooms give teachers the opportunity to disseminate information in interesting ways and allows learners to creatively demonstrate comprehension, too. Whether recording a podcast for other socially distant students, giving a video tutorial on how to sew a mask or practicing conversational Spanish with a native speaker halfway across the world, digital assignments can also be hands-on.

1:1 learning can save your school money

The up-front cost of school-issued devices is nothing compared to the long-term savings and strategic investment in student futures. Not only are there tons of tech companies who give school’s deep discounts on notebooks and tablets for educational purposes, the free educational apps and increased student test scores can help balance some of the administrative costs.

One study from the London School of Economics and Political Science reporting on student outcomes in England found that information and communication technology (ICT) investment, “has a positive effect on student test scores in English and science.”

Even before 2020, 1:1 teaching environments were popular, proving advantages for teachers, students and schools at large. With no signs of slowing, now’s the time to ensure the students in your school don’t get left behind.