Advertisement
Engadget
Why you can trust us

Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products.

Tennessee's Webb School makes iPads mandatory, still looks down on note-passing

We've seen the Kindle DX fail as a textbook alternative, but the iPad marches ever onward as a pioneer of wireless education. Or so it seems, anyway. This time the tablet has set its sights on a private school in Knoxville, TN, where all students from fourth to 12th grade will be required to carry iPads starting this August. Webb School students can either provide their own slate or lease a WiFi-only model for $20 a month. Just like administrators at Seton Hill University, the folks at Webb School see the iPad as an eventual replacement for traditional textbooks, as well as a tool for interactive learning. We've voiced our skepticism about the in-school iPad trend before, and while we still wonder just how effective the devices might be in the classroom, we're interested to see how this thing turns out. You know, we love the Oregon Trail and everything, but don't today's students deserve to see more than pixelated trailblazers dying of digital diphtheria?

[Thanks, Jordan]