Tablet computers keep classroom instruction fun

In many schools across the nation, tablet computers have become just as common as traditional classroom fixtures, such as maps and pencil sharpeners. For example, Ohio's Bissell Elementary School is set to receive 12 Apple iPads in the coming academic year, the Twinsburg Bulletin reported. Meanwhile, officials at Alabama's Jacksonville City Schools are preparing to equip each student in grades four through twelve with an iPad this August, according to The Anniston Star.

While many schools provide their students with tablets, it is how pupils use them that matters. At the Gwynns Falls Elementary School in Baltimore, Md., for instance, students are using the devices to learn about mathematics, ABC2 News reported.

Using an app that is aligned with the Common Core State Standards, students have a way to learn about new mathematical concepts that is different from reading a textbook or listening to a lecture. Through the use of technology, there is an opportunity to further engage pupils in classroom learning.

"I think it was fun," Natasha Manguran, a fifth-grader at Gwynns Falls, told the news source. "I also think it was educational because when you get the answer wrong, it gives you chances and you can ask other people to get the answer right."