KENTWOOD, MI -- Eight-year-old Cora Hovermale fires up a computer at Kentwood's Meadowlawn Elementary and meets her chosen avatar - a casually dressed girl - ready to help tackle that day's lesson.

There are several Apple/Mac/iPhone-esque sites out there who for the past week have been telling consumers to get iReady. I’m not so sure I understand what this all is supposed to mean. This is ...