An associate professor in the School of Public Health Sciences and Professions, Timothy Ryan, plans to match his lectures by giving out them to students equipped with iPod touches in his Introduction to Industrial Hygiene class this Spring Quarter. This audition run is a first at Ohio University. The lectures, which will be an amalgam of video and slides and have been specially set-up for the iPod touch, will come preloaded on the device. The students are expected to watch and review the lectures before class to allow for a better use of class time, Ryan said, adding that he can monitor whether students are watching them.

“When it is time for class, we are going to reorganize that time,” Ryan said. “It will be more engaging, more questions and answers and exercises. The talking at you has been done already.” Students will be able to give feedback at the end of the quarter on the effectiveness of Ryan’s trial when they return their iPods.Using the iPod as a learning device ushers in a new era of mobile learning, or “m-learning,” where the student can access the curriculum anytime, anywhere, Ryan said. He said he sees this as the next step in learning.

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