Every once in a while we hear statistics about how technology like the iPad is helping kids learn and how the device is moving education forward, but those are just numbers. It’s not until you see and hear students and teachers talking about using the iPad do you get an understanding of how much it’s really doing.

Apple has a profile on its education page that offers an article and a video talking the faculty and students of Burlington High School, just outside Boston, Mass. The article is great, but the video is amazing. The teachers want the best tools they can get and they recognize that text books are not the best way to go.

They even recognize that computer labs aren’t the best way to go anymore. This is a forward thinking group of teachers. The principal believes in access of all kinds, including giving the kids access to technology and even to him — he moved his desk into the lobby so he could always be available.

“Rather than simply parrot back the same things, students can engage in a discussion about why sites present information differently, and come to their own understanding,” said Todd Whitten, history teacher, Burlington High School. “In my view, that’s actual learning, and iPad makes that more possible.”

Technology can help our kids expand their thinking. Educators, like the group at Burlington High School, are going to be a big help moving that forward.