Apple shared some impressive numbers today about iTunes U, which has passed the 1 billion downloads milestone.

They also offered up some very impressive numbers relating to the iPad in the education arena – including:

– 4.5 iPad sold to US educational institutions

– 8 million iPads sold to educational institutions around the world

– iPad sales in this area are shwoing some strong momentum – with sales to the K-12 market doubling in year over year figures for Q3 of 2012. This momentum should just get stronger with the range of less expensive iPads growing.

These sort of numbers are great to see, and offer further proof that the iPad is such a powerful tool for educators and students.