An Educational Goldmine – iTunes U

 

One of the most powerful educational treasures on the web is iTunes U. This online service hosts a wide collection of free online Universities & Colleges courses from over 1000 institutions such as MIT, Stanford University, Cambridge University, Oxford University and many others worldwide. All online courses are accessible through iTunes which can be downloaded for PC and Macintosh computers. An ITunes app is also available for iPads and iPhones.

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In addition to this iTunes U also host educational materials in two additional non-university categories:

• Beyond Campus including International Baccalaureate Asia Pacific
• K-12 featuring contributions from hundreds of school systems

Where is iTunes U in iTunes?

It is well hidden under the iTunes Store button. This short tutorial demonstrates how to access online university courses as well as the offerings under Beyond Campus and K-12.

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How can bookmark in iTunes U?

One of the biggest problems in the past was the inability to bookmark the URL of the section of a course. This has now changed. When you click on the FREE button, a pop-up menu offers the options of Share on Twitter, Share on Facebook or Copy link. This option is demostrated below in the MIT course, Technology in a Dangerous World.

 

Opportunities for Professional Development?

iTunes offers a wide range of free online courses in areas such as History, Society, Health & Medicine, Engineering, Communications & Media, Art & Architecture, Literature, Mathematics, Science, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Science, Law & Politics, Religion & Spirituality, Language, Business and others. According to Apple the following are the most popular:

• Developing iOS 7 Apps for iPhone and iPad  Stanford University. 4 video tracks.
• Game Theory Yale University. 24 video tracks, 24 audio tracks.
• Spanish I  Arkansas. 26 video tracks.
• History of Modern Philosophy  University of New Orleans. 16 audio tracks.
• Statistics 110: Probability Harvard University. 34 video tracks.
• iPad Basics  Garland Independent School District. 21 video tracks.
• Modern Art The Saylor Foundation. 109 lecture documents.
• Understanding Happiness TED. 15 video tracks, 1 audio track.
• This is C S50 2013.  Harvard University. 13 weeks of lecture videos and audio tracks.
• Principles of Human Nutrition La Trobe University. 23 audio tracks.

(Source: http://www.universityspot.com/lists/itunesu.html)

Additionally,  iTunes U offers and extensive offering of professional development courses for Teaching & Learning.

The Future of Education?

Lynn University is one of the few institutions that have decided to offer an extensive number of courses online. Lynn University will phase out its learning management system and the university’s daytime undergraduate courses will be managed through iTunes U. Faculty members create their courses using iTunes U’s Course Manager and  import custom-made iBooks. Lynn University has already piloted the iPad mini as a textbook replacement during the 2013 January interim term and will expand the program to include all students in fall 2014. Read more…

Additional information

ITunes U Support

Create iTunes U Courses