Don't have time to sit through lectures? Not to worry. Just strap on the old iPod and get educated.

That's the concept, sort of, behind Apple's latest venture. Working with six universities, including Missouri and Stanford, Apple will make college lectures and related content available via podcasts, which you can download from iTunes.

Witness:

Internet access to college lectures is nothing new, but listening to them on portable gadgets is a more recent phenomenon of the digital age, spurred in part by the popularity of podcasts, or downloadable audio files. [....]

Apple's service offers universities a customized version of the iTunes software, allowing schools to post podcasts, audio books or video content on their iTunes-affiliated Web sites. The iTunes-based material will be accessible on Windows-based or Macintosh computers and transferable to portable devices, including Apple's iPods.

The service lets institutions decide if they want to limit access to certain groups or open the material to the public.

For instance, Stanford University, which joined the pilot program last fall, gives the public free access not only to some lectures but also audio broadcasts of sporting events through its iTunes-affiliated site.

Schools and universities have historically been major contributors to Apple's computer sales. With iTunes U, Apple "is leveraging the ubiquity that we've established on campuses with iPods and iTunes," said Chris Bell, Apple's director of product marketing for iTunes.What ever happened to Mark Hopkins on the end of a log and a student on the other?