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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
Thanks to Apple, sleeping through an 8 a.m. class doesn't mean missing out on the lecture.
iTunes U, a new application now available to more than 250 colleges and universities across the United States, will be coming to Syracuse University by the end of this year.
The new application allows students to download lectures and other course materials directly to their iPods and MP3 players.
Developed by Apple to give iTunes users access to educational materials from universities, it was initially denied by SU in 2007 because the university planned to develop the technology on its own. However, because of the program's mounting success during the past year, SU decided to organize a team to figure out how to best implement the new application on campus.
"We need to understand how to take advantage of the functionality of it by leveraging it to best reach all of our students," said Anthony Rotolo, an adjunct professor and member of the team looking to bring the technology to campus. "For example, one way to use it is for our online master's degree students who can access course material without being at Syracuse."
Rotolo, an instructional technology manager at the School of Information Studies, is particularly interested in how a program such as iTunes U can be used as a distance learning solution. Currently, the iSchool is the only school on campus to have all of its master's degree material available online, facilitating an education for everyone from graduate students in the working world to soldiers in Iraq.
The developers of iTunes U are looking into how it can be used for students on campus, as well. SU intends to follow the model used by Stanford University, which puts out public material for everyone to access in addition to private, course-related access material available only to students.
"Because of copyright issues, we want to make material available only to members of the university," said Gary McGinnis, director of Information Technology and Services at SU. "If you have a NetID and password, you can sign into iTunes U and access educational material that is on there from your specific course."
iTunes U, a new application now available to more than 250 colleges and universities across the United States, will be coming to Syracuse University by the end of this year.
The new application allows students to download lectures and other course materials directly to their iPods and MP3 players.
Developed by Apple to give iTunes users access to educational materials from universities, it was initially denied by SU in 2007 because the university planned to develop the technology on its own. However, because of the program's mounting success during the past year, SU decided to organize a team to figure out how to best implement the new application on campus.
"We need to understand how to take advantage of the functionality of it by leveraging it to best reach all of our students," said Anthony Rotolo, an adjunct professor and member of the team looking to bring the technology to campus. "For example, one way to use it is for our online master's degree students who can access course material without being at Syracuse."
Rotolo, an instructional technology manager at the School of Information Studies, is particularly interested in how a program such as iTunes U can be used as a distance learning solution. Currently, the iSchool is the only school on campus to have all of its master's degree material available online, facilitating an education for everyone from graduate students in the working world to soldiers in Iraq.
The developers of iTunes U are looking into how it can be used for students on campus, as well. SU intends to follow the model used by Stanford University, which puts out public material for everyone to access in addition to private, course-related access material available only to students.
"Because of copyright issues, we want to make material available only to members of the university," said Gary McGinnis, director of Information Technology and Services at SU. "If you have a NetID and password, you can sign into iTunes U and access educational material that is on there from your specific course."
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