PHOENIX - Countless new iPads brightened the day and faces of students at Friendly House’s Academia del Pueblo school in south Phoenix Thursday morning.
“I feel like it's going to help everyone in the class,” said fifth-grader Dominique Hernandez, 10.
Of course there were a few celebratory selfies, but one of the school's award-winning teachers said it will help take the children’s education to the next level, much of which is already online.
"My students were already very much aware of the technology, but what they needed was a piece in their hands,” said Shalini Sharma. “Now they have it! So having this grant will really help them have access to their homework."
Academia del Pueblo is a Title I school which focuses on low-income families. Only about 5 percent of the students use computers at home.
So a shiny new tablet will give them constant, hands-on contact to their education.
"Times are gone when kids used to flip through paper books,” said Sharma. “Let's have our iPads out and start working on it. It should be more of students taking more part in the classroom and teachers guiding them from the sides."
It was all made possible by Apple's ConnectED grant, which has already pledged $100 million worth of teaching and learning solutions, such as an iPad, across the country.