(WBIR - KNOXVILLE) Bearden Middle School students picked up their new iPads Wednesday.
About 1,300 students and teachers will use the iPads in the classroom and off campus.
For those without Internet access at home, the tablets come with a data plan.
The program is part of a grant through Verizon.
The wireless company selected 21 schools nationwide, and two are in Knox County. All students at Carter Middle School will also get tablets.
Sonya Winstead, executive principal of Bearden Middle School, said officials "feel very fortunate to have received the grant. It's something we probably never would have dreamed of. If we thought what could happen, this is more than what we could have dreamed."
The iPads will be filtered, so students can only access certain applications and web sites.
The goal is to close a learning gap among the young students in digital literacy, Winstead said.
Students will be taught how to use the devices safely. And teachers will be instructed on how to maximum the iPad a a teaching device, according to Winstead.
