Free laptops: a recipe for success?

Free laptop schemes such as the one launched by Shehbaz Sharif for lower income groups can work in a number of ways. They can help to increase access to technology: Laptops can be expensive, so providing them for free can help to ensure that everyone has access to the technology they need to stay connected and participate in online learning and other activities. Such schemes can improve educational outcomes, reduce the digital divide and promote economic opportunity:

Steve Jobs famously described personal computers as a “bicycle of the mind.” As Jobs tells it, he once read a scientific study that compared the efficiency of motion of different animals. On their own, humans were far less efficient than condors or horses. But the study also included a human on a bicycle. And that human was moving more efficiently than any animal on earth.

The computer was meant to do for the human mind what the bicycle did for the human body — free it from the constraints of nature and allow it to achieve more than anyone ever imagines.

Steve Jobs played a pivotal role in bringing personal computing to the masses. And his vision is now a reality: humans can do much more thanks to personal computers and the networks that connect them.

But the impact of the computer is very different from that of the bicycle. If you give each human a bicycle, their ultimate speed and output will be normally distributed. Some people will ride farther and faster (or slower) than others, but most people will perform within a similar range of each other — the normal range.

On the other hand, if you give each human a computer, their ultimate output will be power-law distributed. A tiny minority will build a piece of software (or post a video) that makes them a billionaire, a slightly larger minority will leverage their skills to make millions, and most will do very little.

A bicycle is also analogous to other industrial machines. The industrial age democratized middle-class jobs: it allowed more people to become more productive, earn more, and build a comfortable life. This dynamic was the key driver behind the rise of the middle class. The impact of networked computers will be very different. They are inherently disequalizing.

A recent study on free laptops distributed among people of lower-socioeconomic class generally improved the quality of their experience. But, it is clear that digital literacy skills determine how much functionally and use the students gained from their laptop. Recommendations include providing technical training and support for both teachers and students based on technological outcomes and further research to be conducted into faculty experience of the digital divide.

While providing free laptops to lower-income students can be a great way to improve their educational outcomes, it is important to also provide them with the digital literacy skills they need to use the laptops effectively. This includes training on how to use the laptops for basic tasks, such as navigating the internet and using productivity software, as well as training on how to use the laptops for more advanced tasks, such as research and collaboration.

Finally, it is important to conduct further research into the digital divide. This research can help to identify the challenges that lower-income students face in accessing and using technology, and it can help to develop more effective strategies for addressing these challenges.

Here are some specific recommendations for providing digital literacy training and support to lower-income students:

• Incorporate digital literacy skills into the curriculum. This can be done by providing explicit instruction on digital literacy topics, such as internet safety, research skills, and computer programming.

• Offer after-school or summer programs that focus on digital literacy. These programs can provide students with additional opportunities to learn about and practice using technology.

• Partner with local libraries or community centers to offer digital literacy workshops. These workshops can be a great way to reach students who may not be able to attend after-school or summer programs.

• Provide technical support to students and teachers. This can be done through a help desk, online tutorials, or in-person workshops.

• Conduct research into the digital divide. This research can help to identify the challenges that lower-income students face in accessing and using technology, and it can help to develop more effective strategies for addressing these challenges.

By taking these steps, we can help to ensure that all students, regardless of their income level, have the digital literacy skills they need to succeed in education and in the workforce.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023