OMG....THIS IS SOOO CRAZY....

"...RMIT is also planning to give free iPods containing course details to its students as competition grows among universities to cater for young gizmo addicts....."If it's on your mobile and your train's delayed you can catch the start of the lecture. If you have to leave the lecture early you can catch the end of it on the way home."....Prof Chris Bigum said Deakin University, which was one of the first to send out exam results by SMS, was looking at downloading lectures to iPods and MP3 players...."

BUT!!!!....""We much prefer that students attend lectures," Melbourne University's Professor Peter McPhee said......"

What has the world gone to? Ipods, MP3 Players and mobile phones for lectures? DO we seriously need it? Where has human interaction gone to? Very often I believe technology is a killer. Children today are too engross in their computer games that they lack of passion in life, they have poorer communication skill and less common sense. Some even end up falling in love with the virtual world and are detached from the real world. No real friends, no team work, no life.

How Irony...because I would personally think that education is not just getting the knowledge, it is about facts of life! It is about morale and humanity, it is about how we talk to others and how we bring out ourselves. With technology being integrated in our education system, I really symphathy future students who would miss out the best thing in their uni lives - to meet up with friends and have fun!

for more details, read the article below..

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From Herald Sun 18 June 2005

Mobile phone tutorials possible
Liam Houlihan
youth reporter
18jun05

GETTING a diploma from the comfort of bed, a bar stool or the beach could become a reality as universities prepare to beam lectures to students' mobile phones.

Those facing the eternal student dilemma of waking up seconds before their lecture starts would be just a keystroke away from virtual attendance under the scheme.
Victoria's five main universities -- Melbourne, RMIT, Deakin, Monash and LaTrobe -- are monitoring the technology with a view to implementing it in the future.

RMIT is also planning to give free iPods containing course details to its students as competition grows among universities to cater for young gizmo addicts.

Under the virtual lectures scheme, lessons would be filmed on digital video then transmitted to students' mobiles that carry sound and moving images.

Existing 3G technology also makes live real-time broadcasts possible.

Many of the state's larger universities already film lectures and make them available online for students who can't attend.

Nick Brignell, 25, said the idea of being a "doctor of doonas or bachelor of bar stools" sounded great and every student he knew would go for it.

The business marketing student said he missed a lecture once every three weeks due to sleeping in, a big night out or public transport delays.

"Ninety-five per cent of students miss lectures," he said.

"If it's on your mobile and your train's delayed you can catch the start of the lecture. If you have to leave the lecture early you can catch the end of it on the way home."

LaTrobe University acting Vice-Chancellor Graham McDowell said students were working longer hours and spending less time on campus, which could make the idea attractive to them.

"I expect almost all students have a mobile phone, but not all would have their own computer," he said.

But those who believe there is no equal for face-to-face interaction are less besotted with the idea.

"We much prefer that students attend lectures," Melbourne University's Professor Peter McPhee said.

At RMIT students are so reliant on technology they unplug the cafeteria's vending machines to recharge their laptops and PDAs, RMIT's head of IT Services, Allan Morris, said.

He said the university was looking at copying an American scheme where students received iPods packed with university information tailored to their courses.

"I'd be surprised if there were any universities not looking at going down the mobile track.

"We're seriously looking at all these things because everybody is looking at how they market themselves to students," he said.

The universities all said they would monitor the lectern-to-phone system. They said extending existing online technology to phones would not be complex.

Some said future universities would emerge that would not be campus-based but exist only in cyberspace.

Prof Chris Bigum said Deakin University, which was one of the first to send out exam results by SMS, was looking at downloading lectures to iPods and MP3 players.