UD joins iTunes U to deliver educational materials
The University of Delaware has joined other prominent universities, world-renowned museums and academies of life-long learning on Apple's iTunes U, which provides educational audio and video content through the iTunes Store.
“The delivery of educational materials is changing rapidly and the University of Delaware is keeping pace through this new partnership with Apple's iTunes U,” said David Brond, UD vice president of communications and marketing. “We are pleased to be able to offer this important service to the University community as part of our continuing commitment to innovation and excellence.”
“The iTunes Store is no longer just for downloading music and applications for iPods,” Paul Hyde, IT Academic Technology Services (IT-ATS), said. “Mobile technology is revolutionizing the way education and self-directed learning is presented. UD wants to extend its world-class education and programs in two ways: First, to make it more convenient for current students, and second, to bring awareness of the University of Delaware to new audiences.”
iTunes U is part of the iTunes Store, which is filled with educational, audio/visual content that is free and available to anyone. New providers and material are added continually. Through a collaborative project between Information Technologies (IT) and the Office of Communications and Marketing (OCM), UD is now one of those providers.
“You don't need an iPod or iPhone to use this material,” Paul Rickards, IT-ATS, said. “You can simply play or watch it on your personal computer using iTunes on either a Macintosh or Windows-based computer.”
If you do use an iPod or iPhone, you can synchronize the material you're interested in with the device and watch it anytime, anywhere.
“iTunes U has two faces: Public and private. Anyone can access the public side. The private side is for people, such as students, who are enrolled in a class that is not open to the public,” Hyde said.
For example, in the public arena, the podcasts currently available on UD's podcast Web site will be available to anyone.
“However, if you are a student enrolled in a UD class whose instructor has uploaded content to iTunesU for that class, you will log in to the UD iTunes U portal using your UDelNet ID and password. You will automatically be recognized as a student in that class and gain access to the respective course materials,” Rickards said.
Faculty members who would like more information can contact IT-ATS by phone at (302) 831-0640 or by e-mail at [ats-info@udel.edu]. As with other online content channels, anyone who uses this new service is responsible for adhering to copyright and trademark regulations and laws.
“UD has an enormous amount of first-rate educational material to share with the world. Rather than limit these materials to the campus community, we want others to explore some of our resources and recognize the high-quality learning environment at UD,” Rickards said.
To check out UD on iTunes U, visit the Web page.
