About ITC
Newsletter: Fall 2007
iTunes: Thousands of Educational Podcasts
by Donna CarnduffSimply defined, iTunes is a digital media player that plays and
organizes digital music and video files. It can automatically synchronize its files with mobile digital music players such as the popular iPod from Apple, Zen from Creative Labs, and Carbon from Rio Audio.
But iTunes is more than a media playback program and more than a companion to the iPod. iTunes connects to the iTunes Store, where you can search for and subscribe to thousands of educational podcasts. And recently, a new portal, iTunes U, was opened that offers free collegiate content never before available to the public.
After downloading the free iTunes software, searching for an educational podcast is as easy as selecting “Podcasts” from the main store list and then selecting “Education” from the category list. You may select a “featured” podcast or further define your search by typing in a keyword in the Search box.
There are some privacy concerns, as with any social software. You may need to investigate “fair use”—the point at which usage of others’ intellectual content steps beyond what’s fair and legal.
iTunes is easy to use and is available as a free download for both Mac and PC.
Need an Online Home for Your Instructional Podcasts?
Several of your fellow UT instructors have created their own educational podcasts. You are invited to view how others are using this technology as part of their curriculum at Volcasting@UT. Some instructors have even uploaded these podcasts to the iTunes Store to network around the world. If you’d like more information, please contact the ITC at 974-9670.
Resources
iTunes
Instructional Podcasting: What is it? Does it fit my content?
(pg 7)
iTunes Opens a Special Section for Free Collegiate Content