Gone are the days when the iPod was just for listening to the latest Britney Spears track. Universities are turning the portable media player into a mobile study device, using the iTunes Store to distribute recorded lectures and lab demonstrations to students. Many of these audio and video downloads are available free to the public.

The long list of schools on iTunes U includes UBC and SFU. Among UBC’s podcasts is a recording of University of Toronto professor Minelle Mahtani taking on the subject of how the media misrepresent ethnic minorities.