In the constantly evolving world of technology, Apple tends to be the company leading the pack. With their integrated products and related apps, it shouldn’t be a surprise that they finally tapped into the education market. They had already covered magazines, books, and newspapers, making many publications and subscriptions easily available for reading on an Apple product. With this exciting new development, you may be wondering what iTunes U is and how to use it for your own education.
What is iTunes U?
Apple is billing its latest release as “everything you need to create and share complete courses all in one place.” It’s an application that works on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or, even, PC. Once downloaded, iTunes U is an integrated place for all your learning.
What Will I find in iTunes U?
iTunes U gives you instant access to textbooks, presentations, lesson plans, lectures, and more. For instance, you can log into the application and download a simple creative writing lecture. More in-depth, however, is the option to find your actual college class where your teacher has uploaded that day’s presentation and the audio recording of his lecture.
How Do I Get Started?
Download the iTunes U application on your device. Then, log into your iTunes Store. At the top, you should see an option to select iTunes U. If you’re a student trying to utilize the application, chances are that you have a class that needs it. If this is the case, select the appropriate category and find your school. You can then browse the different classes at your institution that are using iTunes U. Once you find and select yours, you will be able to subscribe to all of the current and future data that your teacher uploads. With the Apple products Push Notifications, you will be notified every time new information is added.
If you aren’t a student, and just want to continue your education, browse the courses offered through iTunes U. There are free courses teaching everything from Italian food preparation to Abnormal Psychology.
Is Part of the Learning Process Lost?
You may be worried that some things you easily did to help you learn won’t be possible if you use the digital courses and books. Thankfully, iTunes U allows highlighting, bookmarking, and note taking right in the application, so you can still utilize your regular study habits. Through the iCloud and syncing of your Apple devices, work you do on one product will be saved onto any other products; therefore, you won’t lose your work when you switch between Apple devices.