While schools invest heavily in AI and classroom displays, a basic piece of hardware may be the missing link to better engagement and clearer learning, writes Ms Madeleine Mortimore, Global Education Innovation and Research Lead for Logitech.
In K–12 education today, most of the EdTech buzz falls into two categories: AI tools and visual tools such as interactive whiteboards and content cameras. But one of the most essential solutions for students falls into neither of those. It’s worn on the head.
A missing priority?
Headsets are too often overlooked in EdTech investment strategies. A recent national survey conducted by Logitech and THE Journal found that only 21 percent of IT decision makers prioritise headsets as part of their EdTech hardware planning.
Meanwhile, school case studies indicate that only 18 percent of students feel confident with wired earbuds, a common alternative to headsets. Because so many lessons and activities rely on spoken instructions or include essential audio, students must be able to hear clearly before they can engage with content, learn from their peers, or sustain focus. In many learning spaces, unfortunately, that’s not guaranteed.
The sound gap
Walk into the typical classroom, and you’ll quickly notice it isn’t quiet. The HVAC hums, hallway chatter, scraping chairs, and digital devices all tend to drag students’ already-busy minds away from what they’re learning.
This explains why, according to a 2024 survey conducted by Logitech and the EdWeek Research Center, 97 percent of teachers say they stop instruction at least twice a day because students didn’t hear the first time.
Each of these disruptions might last a minute or two if you include the time it takes to regain students’ attention, and those minutes add up. The study indicates that 30 hours of instructional time are lost per year just from repeating directions. That’s nearly a week of lost learning.
The impact goes past mere time on task and affects the quality of education we can offer students. For younger learners, especially those aged five to 14 years, auditory processing is still developing. Missing a single word multiple times throughout class can disrupt comprehension and, over time, derail an entire curriculum. Students who constantly miss the thread of instruction may silently fall behind.
So we need to find ways to help students hear clearly and consistently whether they’re in the back of the room or joining remotely.
One answer: Headsets
Headsets can be considered instruments for engagement and an aid to effective practice, in some classrooms showing a 400 percent improvement over wired earbuds. It seems beyond obvious to say, but when students can hear and be heard clearly, they learn with more confidence.
In the same THE Journal survey, 81 percent of IT decision-makers said their primary metric for EdTech success is student engagement. Headsets support this goal directly by creating focused, individualised audio environments even in bustling classrooms.
They also support equitable learning environments in meaningful ways: Emerging bilingual learners benefit from reduced background noise, enabling clearer understanding of pronunciation and vocabulary. Students with sensory sensitivities may experience fewer disruptions and more consistent auditory input. And all learners gain autonomy in blended and hybrid learning environments, supporting self-regulation and independent work.
It’s telling that when schools lack enough headsets for all students, teachers spend up to five times more of their instructional time troubleshooting tech problems.
Troubleshooting in these schools consumes nearly an hour a week compared to just 10 minutes in better-equipped classrooms. That’s hours of instructional labour each month diverted away from teaching and toward preventable tech issues, an invisible cost districts pay every year.
Case study: Emma Shuey Elementary School
We’ve seen this difference unfold in real schools. At Emma W. Shuey Elementary School in Rosemead, California, United States (where more than 40 percent of students are English Language Learners), educators piloted Logitech’s Zone Learn headsets with 50 students to evaluate the impact on reading comprehension using the Epic! digital reading app.
The results were clear:
- 94 percent of students reported improved focus with headsets vs. just 18 percent with wired earbuds.
- 90 percent said they felt more confident in their learning performance.
- Students finished 40 percent more books when learning with headsets.
One student summed it all up well: “I got more information and I could answer more questions.”
This shows how powerful the simplest solutions can often be: a headset may be the difference between a student who struggles and one who is able to think better, participate actively, and achieve more.
Is It Time to Rethink “Basic” EdTech?
Schools are wisely investing in advanced technologies, but foundational tools deserve to be considered too. Diagnosing classroom problems accurately is important to figure out which EdTech solutions will have the greatest benefit. If students can’t hear instruction clearly the first time, no smart board or camera system can fix that.
The ability to hear and be heard clearly is the first step for engagement, comprehension, and achievement. As school and district leaders contend with tightening budgets and increasing classroom complexity, they should remember that the right headsets offer a simple, cost-effective solution that helps improve learning outcomes.
Ms Madeleine Mortimore is the Global Education Innovation and Research Lead for Logitech, where she leads research on EdTech hardware. With years of experience as a classroom teacher, she has developed a curriculum for Grades 4 through 12 and has been a Researcher at the MIT Teaching and Learning Lab
