Music lovers have always been grateful for the introduction of the iPod in the market. After all, what gadget could give you all of the features that the iPod has to offer? Surely the ability of the iPod to be converted to a mini radio station for example with the help of different like iTrip & FM transmitters is hard to match. Not only that, iPods are also a great way to express oneself, not mention store lots and lots of your favorite music. But recently, the iPod also serves not only as the music lover's best friend but also as a teacher's assistant.

More and more colleges now are using this nifty device from Apple as learning aids. This new use for the music player makes the iPod not only beneficial for musical entertainment but also as an important tool for learning. At Tidewater Community College in Virginia, associate professor Kathy O'Connor received a $11,000 grant for her to use iPods in her Spanish class.

Her students can rent out one of the 25 available iPod Nanos at the college's library for free. O'Connor has this to say about her step to use the iPod as a tool of learning: "I am loading onto the iPod the listening comprehension practice, vocabulary, and pronunciation practice that students need to do. I've made the language lab mobile".

For higher level students, she loads Spanish language podcasts, radio, conversation, and even Latin Music onto the Nanos. Her reasoning is sound when she stated that: "You can't learn language two days a week, (so) I wanted (iPods) for out of class practice. The more you listen, the more comfortable you feel with speaking."

The Tidewater Community College is not the only school that has received grants to use iPods as a part of the teaching process. Some schools even use the iPods on a much larger scale. Case in point is Duke University. Visiting professor Faulkner Fox will be providing iPods for her English 109 course this semester for her students. The iPods will be used by the students to record interviews of at least two persons. This is a requirement for the course.

At the said university, students have the chance to rent fifth-generation video iPods and a recording device for free. This privilege is reserved for those who are taking up iPod-approved subjects at the said university. They are also given a very special offer wherein they can buy the iPod package worth $300 for only $99.

In the past, Duke has already proven that they are serious in their efforts to use iPods as part of the teaching process by providing 1,600 freshmen with an iPod and a recording device. This happened in the fall of 2004 and it turns out that the university view has been just the first step towards the more important roles of the iPod in the academe. The said iPods were used in different ways. Students use them to record lectures. This means that they will not miss a single word that their professor has uttered. Even during physical activities in the campus, the iPods are also used for collecting pulse rate data for example.