Cheap and rugged, the device takes a gaming approach to elementary reading and math.

Sonny Wong strides to the middle of her first-grade classroom at the Francis Scott Key Elementary School in this city's often-foggy Outer Sunset District.

"One, two, three, all eyes on me," commands the young teacher, prompting the room of children – mostly the sons and daughters of Asian immigrants – to pay attention to Ms. Sonny, as they call her, at least for a moment.

"What kind of voices should we have when we're on our TeacherMates?" she asks, after passing out what look like toy gadgets, à la Nintendo's Game Boy. "Soft," they respond in unison, as they fidget with the plastic minicomputers, switching them on and plugging in headsets.

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