Skip class with podcasts

"Podcasting," or independent radio-type programming available for download on the Internet, has seen amazing growth in the past year. Thanks, in part, to Adam Curry's Daily Source Code, Podcasting is the next heir to the blogging phenomenon. And now Curry has his own program on Sirius Satellite Radio, called the PodShow. Podcasting has hit the mainstream.

But here's a new take on podcasts: Why not download class lectures in MP3 format? This is a great idea for professors to record their lectures and post them weekly on a Web site with an RSS feed. I think it would be of great help to students.

And since a lot of larger classes at big universities have downloadable or streaming video of lectures, sounds like a good time to start considering videocasting, with Apple's new video-enabled iPod.