Madison teachers will soon be handing out Apples to students.

The School District for the first time plans to buy more than 600 iPads for use in the majority of schools this spring. Another 800 iPads are expected to be in classrooms by next fall, all paid for with money from a state settlement with Microsoft.

District officials are enthusiastic about the possibilities presented by tablets, from students wirelessly sharing classroom work to replacing workbooks purchased each year with online "apps." Other districts in Dane County and around the state are already experimenting with tablets.

In Madison, the popular computing device presents a "jumping off" moment for technology in classrooms that hasn't happened with desktop and laptop computers, said Bill Smojver, the district's director of technical services.

"This is the most significant transition point for having digital learning at the optimal level," Smojver said.

Compared with computers, tablets are cheaper, more portable and easier to use, Smojver said. And as Madison administrators found at a recent demonstration in Chicago Public Schools, students were more engaged in classrooms using tablets, deputy superintendent Sue Abplanalp said.