These Kids are Better Than Yours: Tennessee School Requires iPads for All Students

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No more pencils, no more books – the iPad “changes everything”, right?

The Webb School in Knoxville, Tenn. is looking to harness the power of Apple’s latest gadget in the classroom. All students from 4th to 12th grades will be required – not suggested, or recommended, or even encouraged – but required to have an iPad. And if the price is too prohibitive, students can lease the device from the school. Jim Manikas, Webb School’s technology director, says the cost for a rental will be about $200 a year. For you NewsFeeders doing the math, a wifi-only iPad starts at $500.

(More on TIME.com: See TIME’s Odd Todd learning how to use an iPad.)

The school is hoping that the iPad can take the place of textbooks over time. Students won’t be hunched over with overstuffed backpacks anymore. “”We have some students carrying 50 to 60 pounds of books and the iPad weighs just a pound and a half,” Manikas said.

We’re sure the kids have no problem with the school’s proposition. But it’s up to the faculty to learn how to use the iPad – or else the students will become the teachers in this case.

Though it’s not all fun and games for the Webb kids, though – actually, no fun and games at all. The school is reportedly blocking Facebook and Twitter on the iPads. (via Fast Company)