The days of paper grocery bag book covers may be coming to an end! Students from Lake Minneola High School are receiving iPads instead of textbooks to use in the classroom and at home this school year.

The school is the first public school in Central Florida to purchase iPads for all their students to reduce cost of textbooks. According to the Orlando Sentinel, other private schools are adopting the same program. Lake Wales High School, a Florida charter school, used donations from to buy iPads for their students, and the Jewish Academy of Orlando is doing the same.

Public schools in Florida are moving to all digital materials by 2015, and the state plans to follow Lake Mineola's progress with their iPads to see how the transition works out.

Mary Jane Tappen, deputy chancellor for curriculum, instruction and student services at the Florida Department of Education said other Florida schools can learn from Lake Minneola so they can be better prepared to make the digital leap in the future.

The Lake Minneola School received a nice discount spending around $700,000 on 1,750 devices. This could help reduce costs by allowing students to use one device for all their courses instead of several textbooks. iPads in the classroom will also allow schools to cutback on buying computers and other expensive technology in the future. However, how are schools going to be able to keep up with the latest tech trends?

It's already rumored that Apple might release the iPad 3 this year, and with the stiff competition coming from the Android Market, it's probably safe to assume that the tablet wars are only going to get crazier. Plus who covers the cost for damaged or stolen devices? I still owe my high school money for books that I lost many years ago! Worth Ave. Group specializes in covering schools with laptop and tablet programs. Hope they thought about insurance before they threw iPads in the hands of the students.