( WIRED ) -- More and more schools are jumping on the digital bandwagon and adopting iPads for daily use in the classroom . Apple 's education-related announcements last week will no doubt bolster the trend , making faculty tools and student textbooks more engaging and accessible . But today another data point emerged , demonstrating that the iPad can be a valuable asset in education . In a partnership with Apple , textbook publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt performed a pilot study using an iPad text for Algebra 1 courses , and found that 20 % more students ( 78 % compared to 59 % ) scored 'Proficient ' or 'Advanced ' in subject comprehension when using tablets rather than paper textbook counterparts . The study was conducted at a Riverside , California , middle school from Spring 2010 to Spring 2011 using HMH 's Fuse : Algebra I app . Similar pilot courses and iPad programs have cropped up all over the country , primarily in private and boarding schools , and select universities . In the public school sector , more than 600 school districts have adopted a 1:1 iPad program . The iPad seems to help students better connect with the content at hand . `` Students ' interaction with the device was more personal . You could tell students were more engaged , '' said Coleman Kells , principal of Amelia Earhart Middle School . `` Using the iPad was more normal , more understandable for them . '' Tablets could be less daunting to students , too . Marita Scarfi , CEO of digital-focused marketing agency Organic , says that moving textbooks to mobile devices will reinvent learning . `` Now you do n't know if a book is super huge and formidable , '' Scarfi says . `` Learning can be done in snackable chunks . It could be reoriented . '' Another study centered on an iPad game , Motion Math , has shown that the iPad can help with fundamental math skills . Fifth graders who regularly played the game for 20 minutes per day over a five-day period increased their test scores by 15 % on average ( you can check out more about this study on Wired 's GeekDad ) . Digital textbooks have n't enjoyed the same success as app-based learning tools thus far , however . E-textbooks have been a transitional product , Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps wrote in a November 2011 report . They make up less than 3 percent of textbook sales , and do n't offer much over their paperbound counterparts . Apple 's new and updated products — iTunes U ( an app-based hub for virtual classrooma ) , as well as iBooks 2 , the iBookstore and iBooks Author — should help provide solutions for educators looking to provide more engaging experiences than plain , old PDFs , all without the heavy investments required of building apps from scratch . `` With iBooks , learning will be a lot more experiential , '' Scarfi told Wired in an e-mail . iBooks also have the potential to ease some of the financial burden of schools , as ebooks could save on textbook costs . `` Other benefits include more timely and relevant content , and the ability for students to interact and share this content with ease . Textbooks will now become social in a variety of ways . '' However , even if e-book prices themselves wo n't break the bank , iPads are still a $ 500-plus investment per tablet . Funding is still a problem , particularly for public schools . Luckily , there are sites like DonorsChoose.org that can help offload the costs from teachers and school districts . And a program called SA500 Kids is helping to accelerate funding for technology resource requests on the site . Thus far , iPad requests have been fairly low : SA500 Kids has funded 24 iPad-based project requests since Nov. 25 . Currently there are 418 iPad-related requests on DonorsChoose , out of the 20,000 projects listed on the site . When the next iPad debuts , if Apple goes with a similar pricing scheme as it has with the iPhone — as rumored — then schools will be able to pick up iPads on the cheap and really be able to utilize the company 's new education related products . But regardless , it looks like the iPad is starting to do an impressive job of improving the education space . And now that publishers and instructors have these iBooks tools at their disposal , students can continue to reap the benefits of increased understanding and greater participation . Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $ 1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT ! Click here ! Copyright 2011 Wired.com .
This was done by textbook publishers Houghton - Harcourt and Apple . Middle school students studied from 2010 to 2011 using Apple 's Fuse : Algebra I app . During study , iPad appeared to help students better connect with the app .