MIT OpenCourseWare has released a new iPhone app that allows you to access OCW videos on the go. Of course, you can already load up your phone with MIT OCW lectures via iTunes U. But what this iPhone app offers, in addition to the video content, is a social learning experience, something that might not have been part of the original MIT OCW mission, but definitely something the program has been actively addressing lately with partnerships, for example, with OpenStudy and with specific initiatives and courses aimed at independent learners.

The free MIT OCW app (iTunes link) lets you access the video lectures, but it also allows you to post discussions and leave ratings and reviews of individual videos. You can also download the video for offline viewing, as well as take notes and conduct searches while watching the videos. You can, if you choose, link the app to your Facebook profile, so you can share your course of study with others.

MIT OpenCourseWare makes the materials from over 2000 of MIT's undergraduate and graduate courses available on the Web, free of charge, to any user in the world. OCW receives an average of 1.5 million web site visits per month from more than 215 countries. To date, more than 100 million individuals have accessed its OCW materials.