Study shows classroom laptops can improve reading skills

Classroom laptops have positive effects on learning, according to a study which argues they help students learn everything from reading to independence.

The results come from a study of classroom laptop use conducted by Berlin's Humboldt University.

"It was especially interesting that students in vocational schools could improve their reading skills," said Heike Schaumburg of the university in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. The students also found the lessons more interesting and were more motivated.

As part of a project called 1,000 Times 1,000: Notebooks in Backpacks, which was part of the N-21 initiative of the German state of Lower Saxony, 13 continuing education schools in the state were given laptops. Participating schools used the computers in German class and sometimes in the maths class.

Students using laptops fared no better or worse on average than students without. Nonetheless, the study found the computers had a positive effect.

"According to the teachers, less classroom teaching was needed.

Instead, there was more individual and group work, which let the students work more independently," Schaumburg said.