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SU to adopt iTunes U, a program to allow students to download class lectures
By Evan Klonsky
Posted: 10/9/08, 8:33 PM EST Section: Feature
In addition to the educational material put out by the university for the public, students will be able to log on to iTunes U and access media for a specific course, the same way students use Blackboard.
iTunes U differs from Blackboard in that students can download a specific lecture or course videos straight to their portable MP3 device, without having to stream it through the Internet.
Many professors at SU already offer this technology through personal podcasting, allowing students to download audio or video files that they post on Blackboard or their personal Web sites.
Some students like Alex Marti, a junior marketing management and supply chain management major, feel that Blackboard is inefficient for digital media.
"My class doesn't go through Blackboard," Marti said. "We go through my teacher's personal Web site because we found that Blackboard was too cumbersome."
He downloaded a lecture podcast for his marketing class because his teacher couldn't attend class.
"I think Blackboard is good for downloading texts, but it would be easier if I could download a podcast straight to my iTunes," he said.
Although SU's iTunes U page has already been set up, it is not yet accessible through the iTunes Store.
However, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry has taken a different, more proactive approach toward executing iTunes U on its campus.
SUNY-ESF, whose iTunes U page has been active since June, has uploaded various lectures and student presentations onto the site in an effort simply to educate whoever seeks out the information.
"SU can build it and then have the faculty join in," said Paul Otteson, assistant director and web coordinator for the Office of Communications, who is responsible for bringing iTunes U to the SUNY-ESF campus. "Ours needs to be developed and promoted by our faculty in order to get off the ground because we are much smaller," he said.
iTunes U differs from Blackboard in that students can download a specific lecture or course videos straight to their portable MP3 device, without having to stream it through the Internet.
Many professors at SU already offer this technology through personal podcasting, allowing students to download audio or video files that they post on Blackboard or their personal Web sites.
Some students like Alex Marti, a junior marketing management and supply chain management major, feel that Blackboard is inefficient for digital media.
"My class doesn't go through Blackboard," Marti said. "We go through my teacher's personal Web site because we found that Blackboard was too cumbersome."
He downloaded a lecture podcast for his marketing class because his teacher couldn't attend class.
"I think Blackboard is good for downloading texts, but it would be easier if I could download a podcast straight to my iTunes," he said.
Although SU's iTunes U page has already been set up, it is not yet accessible through the iTunes Store.
However, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry has taken a different, more proactive approach toward executing iTunes U on its campus.
SUNY-ESF, whose iTunes U page has been active since June, has uploaded various lectures and student presentations onto the site in an effort simply to educate whoever seeks out the information.
"SU can build it and then have the faculty join in," said Paul Otteson, assistant director and web coordinator for the Office of Communications, who is responsible for bringing iTunes U to the SUNY-ESF campus. "Ours needs to be developed and promoted by our faculty in order to get off the ground because we are much smaller," he said.
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