For students on the go, finding time to review course material is difficult. If you’re a busy parent shuttling kids back and forth from activities or you’re constantly traveling on business, having online lectures available on your computer, cell phone, or portable music device lets you learn anywhere, anytime.

Sites with open courseware offer easily accessible and downloadable content. iTunes U, available through Apple, provides free educational materials—more than 200,000 audio and video files— from some highly prestigious institutions to make learning more convenient for students.

Online students can use open courseware materials, such as audio and video lectures, to:

• learn new content
• refresh their memory on older material
• supplement materials in classes

If you’re currently enrolled in online courses, you can check and see if your university offers open courseware through iTunes U. If it doesn’t, take a look at similar material from colleges and universities, such as Yale University, Stanford University, and Oxford University.

One of the many distance learning benefits is the ability to take classes whenever the time is convenient. Now, with open courseware, online students can have lectures at their fingertips wherever they go, making online learning even more appealing.