Are School Computer Labs Still Relevant? The Case for the Multipurpose Lab

The year was 1997, and the computer lab was the most exciting room in my school. Our class would line up, walk down the hall, and file into a room of humming desktops. We each got a turn, and we made every minute count, because that room was the only place many of us could use a computer at all.

A lot has changed since then. In the 2024–25 school year, about 88% of U.S. public schools reported providing every student a school-issued device, such as a laptop or tablet, through a 1:1 program (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2025). Not every district is there yet, but in many schools, students now carry laptops in their backpacks the way I carried notebooks.

That raises a question I haven't been able to shake: with so many students carrying their own devices, does the school computer lab still have a place? I believe it does, but only if we stop designing labs for a single purpose.

The Lab That Brought Me Into Teaching

My answer starts with my own story. I began my career as a software engineer. Then in 2008, when I decided I wanted to teach the skills I was using every day, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about working in a school. So before stepping into my own classroom, I took a job as an instructional technology specialist.

My main responsibility was running the school's computer lab. Teachers scheduled time in the lab, and before each visit I met with them to look at their lesson plans and learning objectives. Then I found the software that fit best and built assignments for their students. When the class arrived, the teacher and I worked side by side, helping students complete their work and reach their learning goals.

Every class got into the lab at least once a week. Students used software to extend what they were learning in their classrooms, and I taught computer programming there too. For many students, it was their first chance to create with technology instead of just using it.

That job became my bridge from software engineering to the classroom. Today I teach computer science and mathematics and coach teachers on educational technology. Looking back, it taught me what makes a lab work: not the computers, but the planning and partnership behind them.

What Laptops Still Can't Do

So does a lab still matter where students have their own devices? The old lab gave students access to computers, and 1:1 programs largely solved that. But the devices schools buy for every student are designed to be affordable, durable, and easy to manage, not powerful. As a result, students in many schools still need a lab to:

• Run demanding software. Video editing, CAD, graphic design, and coding environments often exceed what basic student devices can handle, which is why many districts pair Chromebooks with more powerful computers for specialized programs (Patten, 2026).

• Work with specialized equipment. Tools such as 3D printers, VR systems, robotics kits, and physical computing sensors are often too expensive to equip every classroom individually, but sharing these resources in a centralized space makes them more accessible and cost-effective.

• Take secure, high-stakes tests. Shared spaces, high-performance learning labs, and secure testing environments still need dedicated desktop computers (Manson, 2026).

• Keep learning when devices break. Budget devices wear out and get damaged, and some districts are now moving from take-home 1:1 programs back to shared classroom carts (Golomazova, 2026).

What the Research Really Says

Research on school technology tells a surprising story. A review of nearly 100 studies on 1:1 laptop programs found positive effects on achievement in English, writing, math, and science (Zheng et al., 2016). But a large study of Swedish schools found that 1:1 programs had no effect on average standardized test scores, and they actually lowered the performance of students from low-income families (Hall et al., 2021).

Meanwhile, a computer lab program in Chile, with two structured 90-minute sessions a week, accelerated disadvantaged fourth graders' math learning by 50%. The difference was support: teachers had help from coordinators, curriculum-aligned software, and a clear plan for using the lab (Cristia et al., 2025).

When I read that, I recognized my old job. The lesson isn't "labs versus laptops." It's that technology works when it has a clear purpose and real support.

From Single-Purpose to Multipurpose

The traditional lab had one job: give students computer time. A lab built for one purpose, whether it's keyboarding, testing, or a single CTE course, often sits empty for much of the day. A multipurpose lab works differently. It's designed so that many teachers, subjects, and programs can use it in different ways, and it stays busy every period.

An Example: The Pathways Innovation Lab

As I wrestled with this question, I worked through an example. I designed a $60,000 multipurpose lab for a grades 7–12 school setting, which I call the Pathways Innovation Lab. It supports career and technical education (CTE) pathways in cybersecurity, health care, and AI and data science, while staying open to every other subject area.

Instead of rows of identical computers, the room is organized into zones. Along one wall, powerful workstations let students practice cybersecurity and programming sensors. Up front, zSpace AR/VR stations let students lift a 3D heart or molecule off the screen and turn it in their hands. In one corner, 3D printers and microcontroller kits turn ideas into objects. Nearby, a clinical skills station gives future health care workers hands-on practice. In the center, students use their own laptops to collaborate.

Here's what makes it multipurpose. In a single day:

• Cybersecurity students practice defending networks in isolated virtual machines.

• Seventh and eighth graders in an exploratory technology class design and 3D print their first prototypes.

• Health science students explore anatomy in 3D on zSpace and practice taking vital signs.

• Math students collect data with sensors and print geometric solids.

• Science, art, and social studies classes run simulations, sculpt in 3D, or print models of historical artifacts.

The design is also efficient. Because students bring their own devices, the budget goes to equipment they can't get anywhere else. Fifteen stations serve a class of 30, with students working in pairs and rotating through zones. And because cybersecurity work runs inside isolated virtual machines, the same computer a high schooler uses for a cybersecurity lab can serve a 7th grader programming a micro:bit the very next period.

That flexibility matters. When researchers invited teachers and students to redesign a learning space, flexibility was their top priority (Casanova et al., 2023).

A Schedule Every Teacher Can Count On

My lab days taught me that a lab is only as good as its schedule. When every class has a predictable time slot, teachers plan around it, and the lab becomes part of learning instead of an occasional treat. When booking is first-come, first-served, the same few teachers grab the lab while others never get a usable time slot, a problem research on shared labs has documented (Lesisko et al., 2010).

So the Pathways Innovation Lab runs on a weekly master schedule. Cybersecurity classes hold fixed daily periods, middle school exploratory classes get standing reservations, other pathway courses get priority when their units call for it, and every teacher can book what remains.

Every booking also requires a learning goal, just like the planning meetings I held with teachers. That small step guards against what the U.S. Department of Education calls the digital use divide, where some students use technology to create and think critically while others use it only passively (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology [OET], 2024).

Teachers Make or Break the Lab

The biggest lesson from my time running a lab, backed up by the Chile study, is that support matters more than equipment. The lab worked because teachers didn't have to figure out the technology alone. In this design, any teacher who completes a short lab certification can bring in their class, so the lab's success doesn't depend on a single tech expert.

Back to 1997

I still remember the thrill of walking into that lab as a kid, and later the pride of running one for a whole school. Today's students may not need a special room just to touch a computer, but they do need a place to build, experiment, and explore careers they haven't imagined yet.

The computer lab isn't disappearing. It's becoming a multipurpose space with a bigger job than ever.

What would you put in your school's ultimate lab? Tell me in the comments.

References

Casanova, D., Huet, I., & Garcia, F. (2023). The experience of co-designing a learning space with teachers and students. Education Sciences, 13(2), 103. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13020103

Cristia, J. P., Beuermann, D. W., & Malamud, O. (2025, January 29). Handing out laptops is not enough to improve student learning. Inter-American Development Bank. https://www.iadb.org/en/blog/research-development/handing-out-laptops-not-enough-improve-student-learning

Golomazova, D. (2026, August 21). Reasons to use Chromebooks in school in 2026. Alloy Software. https://www.alloysoftware.com/blog/why-do-schools-use-chromebooks/

Hall, C., Lundin, M., & Sibbmark, K. (2021). A laptop for every child? The impact of technology on human capital formation. Labour Economics, 69, Article 101957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101957

Lesisko, L. J., Wright, R. J., & O'Hern, B. (2010, February 10–13). Technology integration: A best practice perspective [Paper presentation]. Annual Meeting of the Eastern Educational Research Association, Savannah, GA, United States. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED508318.pdf

Manson, M. (2026, June 8). Why K-12 tech leaders are choosing all-in-one desktop computers with ChromeOS. CTL. https://ctl.net/blogs/insights/why-k-12-tech-leaders-are-choosing-all-in-one-desktop-computers-with-chromeos

National Center for Education Statistics. (2025, February 19). More than half of public school leaders say cell phones hurt academic performance [Press release]. https://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/press_releases/2_19_2025.asp

Patten, B. (2026, May 27). Chromebook vs laptop: What K-12 tech directors need to know before choosing student devices. Parmetech. https://www.parmetech.com/chromebook-vs-laptop-k12/