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Any college student can tell you that iPods took over most college campuses soon after they were introduced. Walking across campus, if students aren’t on their cell phone, they are probably listening to music on some variety of Apple’s iPod. But recently, colleges have started embracing the trend and attempting to use it for academic purposes.

“When they aren’t dancing, those familiar iPod silhouettes are probably hunkered down in the classroom, where the devices have become a common learning tool.

More than 70 million iPods have been sold since they were introduced by Apple more than five years ago. Now, with the MP3 player’s foothold in academia, universities and companies are quickly expanding the amount of study materials students can use with them.

Duke on the cutting edge
In 2004, Duke University gave all freshmen iPods as part of a one-year program to determine how iPods could help students learn.

The pilot program gave way to the Duke Digital Initiative, in which faculty encourage students to use hand-held technology such as iPods, tablet PCs and video cameras to collaborate on projects and in other coursework.