And many educators are beginning to be convinced that it's not a sub par form of education it's just a different form of education.

The audio book sector of publishing is without a doubt one of the fastest growing areas in the industry. More than half of teenagers own an Mp3 player and while currently only 5% of those people are listening to audio books and audio texts on them, that number is most definitely increasing.

One community college teacher in Virginia received an $11,000.00 grant the college to be able to utilize Mp3 players with her class. She lends her Spanish students an Mp3 player with her lessons on file. It acts as a language lab where students can interact and listen to the language in new and exciting ways that were not offered before.

Students are now able to listen and practice Spanish at the grocery store, post office, or anywhere they are!

Textbooks on Mp3 are also a growing field. The biggest textbook publisher, Pearson Education, is now producing VangoNotes, which is a study guide for chapters of their textbooks.

These notes cost between $3 for one chapter review and $20 for reviews of all of the chapters of the book. Pearson Education believes this division of its company, which is still in the early stages, will see a boom very quickly.

Both media and literacy specialists are finding audio books to be an excellent tool for grade schoolers. They are finding that the old phrase, "I hate to read" is being changed to, "I like to listen to audio books."

Using audio books stretches a listener's vocabulary by exposing them to words they may not be yet able to master through reading.

The audience of Audiobooks is growing larger every day because they are versatile and appealing to so many people. Using them in schools is just one of the ways they are beneficial.

It's thrilling to see students both young and old excited about and turned onto reading and the wonder of books.

Books on Mp3 or iPod audio books can be found in a number of places such as libraries and bookstores but are most easily accessed through the internet. Tons of websites now have them to rent or for sell. Check them out today for the student in your life.