- iTunes U and the iPod as Higher Education - Michal Marcol
Imagine a virtual world of open learning on any conceivable subject matter that is free to anyone with natural curiosity. Sound like nirvana? It already exists, waiting at your fingertips. Online learning tools will come as no new news to university students; au courant professors not only advertise but often require the use of online applications to enhance live lectures. This technology is also open to anyone who has access to the internet. A continuing thirst for knowledge is the student’s only requirement for admission.
The World of Online Learning
There is an expansion of the world of continuing education that has meaning for the common man alongside the officially enrolled student. One need not physically attend nor pay exorbitant tuition fees to an accredited university as a requirement for advanced learning. Open source learning, free podcasts, audio and video files, iTunes University (or iTunes U as they call themselves) and other free educational online resources are available right now to anyone who possesses internet access and even the most basic iPod.
There are 150,000 free education media files from universities and public learning institutions on iTunes U alone. People can listen at any time of their choosing. Whatever the area of interest (music theory, science literature, history, etc., the list is endless), iTunes U undoubtedly has a podcast or video podcast to listen/watch. Offerings are taught by experts in each field. iTunes U listeners can subscribe to entire coursework or one lecture at a time.
iTunes U Enhances the University Experience
Psychologist Dani McKinney of State University of New York in Fredonia conducted a study (featured in Ewen Callaway’s article, New Scientist 18 February 2009) which found that students who were given the opportunity to replay portions of lectures from podcasts did better on tests, achieving a grade level above students who only attended live lectures.
Podcasted lectures are just the beginning of the learning tools offered when universities take advantage of Blackboard in conjunction with iTunes U. Blackboard is a web-based course management system which connects professors to students and podcast listeners. Blackboard does this by administrating additional gizmos like discussion boards, virtual chat, lecture notes, online quizzes, and academic resource modules.
What’s more, enrichment learning beyond the physical classroom does not have to begin at adulthood. Lit2Go (a service of University of South Florida) has audio and video offerings from kindergarten on up.
iTunes U, in conjunction with other learning applications, has been used by university professors to engage students in real time with each other and contribute to content in an interactive format.
Students Thinking Outside the University Box
This is no certificate-in-a-box pay online college; the universities now participating in public access podcasts (both video and audio) are well-respected institutions. The LearnOutLoud online community blog cites among the brick-and-mortar universities which offer podcast content: Stanford, MIT, Yale, Texas A&M, Concordia, Seattle Pacific, UC Berkeley, Penn State, University of Oxford, Michigan Tech, Duke University, Central Washington, DePaul, USC, and Vanderbilt among them. The phenomenon is proliferating: Yale University doubled the number of online courses it offered back in 2008 (Opa.com, Yale's online news source).
Universities stand side by side with private and public learning institutions like PBS, American Public Media, Research Library, Museum of Modern Art, WBGH, Smithsonian Global Sound, and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, to name a few.
How to Use iTunes U on Your iPod or iPhone
On the opening page of the listening device, tap More. Go to iTunes U and either browse featured content or look for a subject area of interest. iTunes U also features its Top 10’s. This category is also broken down by subject matter. Preview a lecture by tapping once or use a double tap for all coursework from this university/class. After a choice has been selected, students can download individual classes or whole series and load them into their iPods and iPhones for listening at a later date. This process can also be repeated on the personal computer through the iTunes Store online.
Online learning through podcasts and video podcasts available through iTunes U are leading the way in alternative tools for continuing education at all levels.
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