Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 04 June 2008 05:39
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 2
Several prominent US colleges including MIT and Yale have been providing recorded lectures and other content free of charge to the general public via Apple's iTunes U service. The program has now expanded internationally with the arrival of content from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland.
Australian participants are the Australian National University (ANU), Griffith University, Swinburne University of Technology, the University of Melbourne, the University of Western Australia and the University of New South Wales.
Other new participants include the Open University and University College London (UK), the University of Otago (New Zealand), and Trinity College Dublin (Ireland).
"iTunes U in the iTunes Store gives everyone the ability to extend their learning, explore interests, learn more about universities and stay connected to an alma mater," said Apple spokesperson John Marx.
For example, the ANU offers recordings of public lectures, lectures from an undergraduate course on Resources, Environment and Society, plus podcast-style items on campus life and skills.
Swinburne's catalogue includes movies created by the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, lectures in PR writing, and tutorials about Flash, Photoshop and other software.
"Having a presence on iTunes U allows existing students and new audiences to discover Swinburne's key areas of expertise and to access content wherever and whenever it's convenient for them, said Lisa Germany, educational co-ordinator with Swinburne’s Digital Learning Initiative.
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