A British university is experimenting with a digital alternative to traditional textbooks and lectures by providing students with lessons via iPods.

Best known for providing hours of digital music and film entertainment to people across the globe, the iPod is now being used to help train diagnostic radiography students at The University of Derby.

Thirty-five first-year undergraduates have each been given the device – preloaded with video lessons about how to position patients for X-rays – for free as part of their course. It is hoped the portable video demonstrations will be more useful than traditional text books and has cost the college over £3,000.

“We are always looking for innovative ways to deliver education to students,” said Chris O’Reilly, e-Learning Development Coordinator, for Radiography within the Faculty of Education, Health and Sciences at the university.

The iPods are reducing the number of hours the students would normally spend in lecture halls and its mobile nature means they can access the information in their own time; at home, on the bus or even during their placements at hospitals. They are not charged for the device and are allowed to upload their own music and movies – but they must return the must-have item of the 21st century at the end of the three-year course.

“We were not expecting it to be successful when we first piloted the scheme with the small size of the screen,” says Chris O’Reilly “but the opposite was true in practice – it turned out to be a great resource for students to have with them wherever they were and they could access it whenever they wanted to.”

The iPod delivers purpose-made video footage and graphic animations with commentary on how the positioning techniques of the upper and lower limbs, skull and chest should be carried out when undertaking an X-ray. Incorrect positioning could lead to repeat X-rays for patients, and therefore increased exposure to radiation, or could result in an inaccurate diagnosis.

Despite its academic advantages, the scheme also has a social benefit, developing a good starting relationship between the college and the students themselves. “The students are typically 18 or 19 years old”, explains O’Reilly. “It’s most likely their first time away from home – engaging with them can be a problem sometimes, but a scheme like this helps.”

Is the college not afraid that the students will just take advantage of the scheme and just spend their free time listening to music on their free devices? Not so, it seems: “We took the decision they are entering a professional course and right from day one we have got to treat them professionally. The idea is that they have to manage their time themselves.”

Chris O’Reilly is also quick to point out that the iPods are used as a supplementary learning device and have not completely replaced the lecture as a method for drilling in information.

“It replaces some of the traditional methods, but it is really just an addition – the students don’t get the same lecture time as previously, but they do get keynote lectures to make sure the information is seeping in. We need that quality control in it to make sure students are progressing as they should be.”

The scheme has drawn a lot of attention from other universities around the world, and at the Ohio State University Medical Centre they are also beginning to incorporate the use of iPods into their curriculum:

“The iPod touch has the potential to positively impact both medical education and the care provided to patients at the bedside,” said Dr. Catherine Lucey, Vice-Dean for education. “The personal digital assistant puts a wealth of information at the fingertips of our students. They can study when they want and where they want. If they are seeing a patient and a question arises, they can find the answer instantly, to share with them.”

So is the iPod the textbook of the future? It certainly makes sense that in this digital age we embrace all technology available to further education. However, there is a time and a place for everything. “I don't feel it would be professional to use it directly in front of a patient,” says Sue Erret, herself a Radiographer as Derby University.

This begs the question – what do radiographers listen to when not performing skeletal x-rays or brushing up on their know-how with their iPods?

“Boney-M”, says Chris O’Reilly, laughing.

Ciaran Walsh for RT