LeVar Burton is back with a mission that matters far more than any bold trek: he’s going to teach your kids to read.

The man who brought the world Reading Rainbow has returned, and it looks like he still knows exactly what children are looking for in entertainment. Just as Reading Rainbow managed to be a television show that encouraged children to love books, Burton is planning a new series that will do just the same thing — on your iPad.

Hopefully expansion will continue from there so that he app can be used on other tablets and computers. Burton’s new group, RRKidz, is planning to use the program to help kids explore topics of interest (like space!) through games, videos featuring Burton in real places, and books with enhanced voiceovers.

Sounds like the Rainbow just got a great big shove into the 21st century.

Burton is determined to get children excited about reading as ever, and his enthusiasm is contagious: “The educational system is just not getting it done. If we’re going to reclaim our place in the world, in terms of how we educate our children and how we prepare them for the future it’s going to get done through a private-public partnership.”

With educational funding getting cut left and right these days, Burton’s message rings truer than ever, and it’s no less than anyone has come to expect from this Next Generation alum. Let’s hope this move to a new technologial frontier will prove advantageous for RRKidz, and shepherd a whole new generation of children to that magical world of reading.

Emily Asher-Perrin remembers going twice as high as that butterfly in the sky. You can bug her on Twitter and read more of her work here and elsewhere.