I have to smile being that I know of a school here very close to where I live that has done something very similar to that of Empire High School in Arizona. Moving from books to PCs may not seem like a big step, but seeing how much more engaging it can be for the kids really makes me happy.

VAIL, Ariz. - Students at Empire High School here started class this year with no textbooks — but it wasn’t because of a funding crisis. Instead, the school issued iBooks — laptop computers by Apple Computer Inc. — to each of its 340 students, becoming one of the first U.S. public schools to shun printed textbooks.

School officials believe the electronic materials will get students more engaged in learning. Empire High, which opened for the first time this year, was designed specifically to have a textbook-free environment. [Read the rest]