by , 3:10 PM EST, February 8th, 2005

Duke University's iPod pilot program, which involved giving each freshman in the Fall a 20GB iPod, is going "extremely well," Lynne O'Brien, director of the Duke Center for Instructional Technology, told the Associated Press.

Eleven courses were involved in the pilot program in the Fall, and 14 are taking advantage of it this spring. The most common use for the iPods--beyond listening to music--is listening to or recording class lectures. Some professors post their lectures online for download, while others instruct students to use their iPods and Belkin microphones to conduct interviews related to assignments.

Duke is currently evaluating the pilot program and will decide in late March or early April whether to continue the program with next year's freshmen. Also of note, the publicity surrounding the iPod program has led some textbook publishers to inquire about including more audio content with their materials.