Why use iTunes U?

Why use iTunes U?

Free Service
With iTunes U you get a free and easy to use system to allows management, distribution and access to educational content. It supports the podcasting model, and automated creation of RSS feeds to allow end-users to subscribe to podcasts.

Popular Media Player & Service
It uses a popular media player & service that is commonly know to students & most staff & faculty.

Piper Jaffray released its 13th annual survey of teenaged technology consumers today. The survey found Apple's iTunes store accounted for a whopping 90% of the online music downloads. Napster's share of the music-download market held steady at an anemic 3%, according to Piper.

Free Software
The software is free and runs on Mac OS X & Windows platforms. For platforms that currently do not have access to iTunes applications we and other institutions are developing a RSS feed for iTunes U that would allow access to content with RSS Aggregator.

Easy Integration
The iTunes U service uses iTunes which allows you to easly integrate with iPods, iPhones and Mac & PCs.

Aids & Learning & Retention
For teaching and learning, the students saw concrete benefits to podcasting projects, especially when compared with standard modes of testing, such as writing a paper or doing a class demonstration:

• They were able to get “intimate” with course material, either by relistening to course lectures and supplements or by teaching the rest of the class.
• They could showcase their projects to the rest of the community, expanding the reach of the classroom to their friends or members of the community.
• They had the opportunity to review course material during pertinent moments in the semester, such as before exams or during course projects.
•  They learned new technical skills, whether they were downloading files or creating new ones.

Marketing & Communication
Since iPods & iTunes is very popular and Apple recently has added a section on the Apple Store for iTunes U. People can quickly access educational content and find similar content across multiple institutions.