Take a stroll around any college campus and you won’t get far without seeing those familiar white wires connecting a student’s ears to a little rectangular device.

iPods are everywhere. We take them to the gym, to the grocery store, to work. But nowhere are they more prevalent, it seems, than on college campuses. A quick stroll through any part of Minnesota State University or Gustavus Adolphus College reveals the true reach of Apple Computer’s music device.

So it only seems natural that iPods — and dozens of other comparable mp3 players — would eventually make their way into the classroom (and not just as a way to avoid a droning history professor).

Podcasting — the phenomenon where individuals create their own program and make it widely available for downloading — is quickly becoming a trendy way for faculty to deliver lectures.

Think about it. Recording lectures is easy. So, too, is the process of putting that recording online for student access. Students download the file to their desktop or laptop computer, then load it onto their mp3 player. In addition to their own lectures, instructors also could post unlimited supplemental material.

It’s happening on campuses all over the country, including the University of Hawaii, where an instructor actually encourages students to eschew the traditional go-to-class method of higher education.

Sounds great, right?

Well, it could be great. Embracing new technologies historically has been terrain owned by colleges and universities. But the idea of podcasting isn’t without its danger zones.

Inching closer

Jim Grabowska, a professor in Minnesota State University’s modern languages department, has been toying with the idea of infusing podcasting into his curriculum.

About a year, he said, he was given several different ipods by Wayne Sharp, director of MSU’s Academic Computer Center. Sharp had heard about a successful program at Duke where language students were downloading lab manual sound files so they could practice their languages on their own time.

So he thought about replicating that.

“I began investigating costs,” Grabowska said. “And there were a couple of problems. Could we oblige students’ investment? Would it be worth the return?”

Also, there wasn’t much content at the time Grabowska did his research. Since that time, however, podcasting has exploded.

“Anybody and their dog who has a microphone and an interest can create their own podcast,” he said. Wading through it all takes time.