A Notre Dame class is going green and electronic at the touch of a hand. That’s because forty students in a Mendoza School of Business management course are on the cutting edge of classroom technology. The course's professor tossed out the traditional textbooks and decided to utilize an iPad for each and every student.

Although it could have been another costly college expense, Notre Dame actually footed the $25,000 dollar bill. In total it bought fifty iPads as an investment for the future. School officials say this course is the first of many classes at Notre Dame that will put this new technology to the test. Students will be communicating closely with faculty members to determine if these lightweight tools outweigh the classic hardback book.

"I don't think I’ve ever received such overwhelming support for anything. All forty students responded back that they were thrilled about the idea,” Dr. Corey Angst said. Angst is as assistant professor with the Mendoza College.

If a shift away from textbooks is made, it could actually be cheaper for students. That's because eBooks are often half the price of hard copies. So the iPad may be a costly investment, but one that could pay off by the end of a college career.

"It’s very interesting and great for us to be a part of something so new. We're all used to the old textbooks, but this seems to be where the future of education is going. So it's nice to feel like a pioneer in something like that,” Notre Dame senior Megan McGarry said.

However, these devices are not immune to issues. Students have already said it’s much harder to highlight and annotate text on the iPads. Even so, faculty and students alike are remaining very optimistic about this endeavor.

“I think this is the wave of the future and we’re all really excited to participate in it,” Angst added.

At the end of the semester, the students won't be able to keep their coveted iPads. Instead, they'll have to return them for other classes to use down the road.