Site of the Day: iTunes U

The iTunes store is now offering free broadcasts from universities to add to your iPod input. There's something in it for you: opportunities to listen in on lectures in medicine, psychology, research, and whatever field of study you don't have time to actually pursue in your nonexistent free-time, from institutes of learning like Stanford, Duke, U.C. Berkeley and Penn State.

There's also something in it for your child: narrated stories for kids, grades K-12, from the University of South Florida, and a cute "Ask a Biologist" series of science broadcasts for children from Arizona State University. Great listening for kids who have trouble with written words on a page, or who need to hear things repeatedly to understand, or whose five-second attention spans give you a workout in waiting rooms and car trips.

Compared to the rap that your kids may bug you to download for them, this stuff is wholesome and brain-stimulating in a good way. Plus, you don't even have to drop 99 cents to get it. Do you think my daughter would notice if I replaced all her playlists with short stories?

(If you don't have an iTunes account, follow the step-by-step for setting up a free one with no credit card or gift card needed.)