I love my bright pink iPod - so, I think it's definitely a plus that schools are recognizing the little device as an educational asset rather than a collegiate distraction. Duke University started an iPod initiative back in 2004 and the results were surprising. A recent Campus Technology article explains:

"As Duke students began to use the iPod for the consumption of course content, students and faculty (almost simultaneously) discovered the exciting possibilities for creating, capturing, and producing learning content, too. As with so many technologies, once the tool was ubiquitous, new uses unfolded quickly. For the students, these new uses shifted to their taking charge of their learning experiences; for faculty, the new uses meant developing new skills in preparing, using, and formatting new audio course content for the iPod."

To learn more about the many educational uses of the iPod, check out the article here: iPod Course Design.