iTeach: A Guide To The Most Useful Apps For The Classroom

Smartphones and tablets have quickly become a permanent part of students' daily lives. Kids up to 8 years old spent almost an hour a day on mobile devices, Common Sense Media reported last year.

And the amount of time kids spend with screens only increases as they get older. On average, 13- to 18-year-olds spend about nine hours a day on entertainment media, much of which is on tablets and smart phones.

But mobile devices don't have to be a distraction. When they are used for project-based learning, research has shown they can improve classroom engagement and student learning across grade levels.

"What you have is an increasing number of schools that are requiring their teachers to receive professional development in technology integration," says, a program coordinator for , an international company that trains educators on how to use technology in the classroom.