Learning is no longer restricted to the classroom, lecture
theatre or seminar room – we’ve gone mobile, downloading and sharing resources
across the world. With the popularity of mobile devices like the iPod touch and
iPhone, students can learn on the go by downloading study materials and
referring to them whenever they want. iTunes U is one of the largest
collections of free educational audio and video files (or ‘tracks’) on the web,
with over 200,000 already available to students, teachers and anyone who wants
to learn.
iTunes U lets users browse tracks to find what they want,
downloading it to their computer or mobile device so that they can listen to it
whenever they choose – perfect when every student seems to have headphones
glued to their ears! A number of UK
universities, including Oxford, Cambridge
and UCL, have already made their mark on iTunes U, as well as the Victoria and Albert
Museum, and the Tate. Of
course, it’s not just open to UK
contributors; international academics from institutions like Yale and the University of Melbourne have also started offering
tracks of their own. In short, there’s something for everyone.
As a collection of resources, iTunes U is pretty invaluable
to students, offering them the chance to hear or see the world’s leading
academics in action. But why just use iTunes U when you can be a part of it?
Any higher education institution has the potential to get
involved with iTunes U, creating their own unique site where they can upload
audio and video files. It’s a great way to make your course material available
to students on the web (just in case they miss the odd lecture after a big
night at the Union), and you can customise all
the content to your curriculum, so they can find exactly what they need. The
potential for mobile learning is huge; students can take these tracks wherever
they go, making revision simple and really improving their exam results.
When you set up your iTunes U site, you have the choice
between Private (so only your students can access your content) or Public. If
you choose Public, you can share your media files with anyone, whether they’re
in the UK
or on the other side of the world. What better way is there to promote the high
standard of your teaching than by showing people an example of one of your
lectures? It gives potential students a glimpse of the kind of work they could
be doing too, making your university or college much more attractive to anyone
trying to pick where they want to study.
To set up your iTunes U site you’ll need to apply through
Apple’s website. There are several criteria you will need to meet in order for
your application to be successful, but don’t worry if these seem a bit daunting
– Jigsaw have lots of solutions to help you meet them! First, you’ll need
to assemble a team consisting of IT support, high-level decision makers,
marketing specialists and forward thinking leaders from different disciplines.
A well thought out, long-term plan is needed to ensure you have the resources
necessary for posting high-quality content regularly and, once you’re up and
running, you’ll need to promote your site to attract visitors. You will also
need around 200 files of high-quality educational content to start off with.
This is easier than it sounds; if it’s educational and you can record it in
audio or video format, it can go on your iTunes U site. Remember who you’re
recording your content for. Talk to your teaching staff and students to
see what they’d like to be able to download. Record seminar discussions
and lectures, film lab experiments – you could even stage special debates to
give your audience two in-depth points of view on one subject!
For creating audio
tracks, all you really need is a good microphone for podcasting. You can choose
from a number of different kinds of microphone – from a USB mic, like the
Samson CO1U, connected to a laptop, or a tie clip mic (brilliant if the person
you’re recording likes to think on their feet). Creating video tracks is
just as simple, with the addition of a good camera and a tripod to make sure
you capture all the action without any annoying juddering. Files can be edited
simply in applications such as iMovie or GarageBand. Or if your institution teaches courses which use professional software like
Apple’s Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere or Avid’s Media Composer you can create
high quality edits with effects, titles and soundtracks.
Podcast Producer is another great piece of software for Macs
that provides a complete, end-to-end solution for encoding, publishing and
distributing high-quality podcasts, which are great for uploading to your
iTunes U site.
There are a number of file types compatible with iTunes U so,
before you upload anything, you need to know what format your content should be
in. It’s also well worth reading up on metadata, which helps people find tracks
in iTunes. Good metadata will send everyone to your audio and video files,
so don’t neglect it!
Our Top iTunes U Tips:
Don’t put all your content up on the first day – Give
yourselves a head start by keeping some of your tracks to use for regular
updates each week.
Spread the news – Promote your iTunes U site before the
launch day, so that you get as many visitors as possible.
Do your research – Spend some time browsing other iTunes U
sites to see what other people have created. You can discover which tracks are
the most popular and find out which topics haven’t yet been covered.
Setting up an iTunes U site a brilliant way to share
information. To find out more about how to create audio and video tracks for your
site, talk to our experts on 03332 409 333 or email leanring@jigsaw24.com and we will guide
you through the process.