Grant gives some Va. students iPads

Several classrooms across Virginia are trading history books for computers with interactive media and digital content.

By Paul Sakuma, Associated Press

Selected elementary, middle and high school students in Arlington, Henry and Pulaski counties and the city of Newport News are participating in the state Department of Education’s “Beyond Textbooks” program. The initiative announced Wednesday gives 230 iPads to several classrooms in an effort to utilize wireless technology and digital textbooks to help students learn history.

A grant from the Governor’s Productivity Investment Fund is being used to buy the iPads, which typically retail at about $499 for the least expensive model. Textbook publishers and software companies have donated content, platforms and applications that are aligned with Virginia’s history and social studies Standards of Learning.

-- Associated Press