A new necessity of back-to-school time is suitable headphones. Students of all ages will be doing a lot more video calls and online distance learning, so a solid pair of headphones, earbuds, or audio headset is a must.
We separated these options out into different categories largely based on price. The lower cost options will come in handy for those on a budget or in need of a temporary solution, while the more premium and higher cost models will provide longer value and potentially more uses across several areas of life.
Most younger kids should still be able to take advantage of the lower cost options now and grow into them over the coming years. For the youngest kids in elementary grades, we did highlight an option which limits noise levels and fits smaller head sizes of the littlest learners.
A major item of consideration was connectivity. Most modern devices including phones, tablets, laptops, and chromebooks all support wireless connectivity for both hearing and speaking. In this case, a lot of these choices prioritized wireless connectivity in the interest of movement and flexibility, but an eye was also kept on corded use as well for situations where it is just easier to plug in a cord than fiddle with Bluetooth. (If your device does not have Bluetooth support, there are adapters to connect wired headphones wirelessly.)
I have reviewed headphones, speakers, and audio gear of all kinds for the last seven years for a wide range of publications. While it's tough to narrow the options down to just a few, I tried to select great picks from a variety of brands and at different price points — each with a built-in microphone for all types of students and remote learners.
Here are the best remote learning headphones based on our research and testing