Digital Media
Getting Started in iTunes
iTunes is a popular, free, and easy-to-use application for Mac or PC. It is Apple's main platform for advertising their music and movies (so you'll encounter a constant pop culture emphasis in the iTunes Store area). On the other hand, with a little practice, it's also an incredibly easy way to find, store, organize, and share your digital files.How Do I Get It?
Visit the iTunes site and look for the blue "Download now" button on the right. Install like any other application. This tutorial is based on version 7.How Does it Work?
The iTunes site also has some quick tutorials on how to find your files, import music from CDs, and sort your music into playlists. Remember that, in the menu on the left, everything under LIBRARY and PLAYLISTS indicates files on your computer, while STORE points to iTunes' website.Now that we've wrapped up the basics, let's move on to podcasting.
Viewing and Subscribing to Podcasts in the iTunes Store
Podcasts can be found everywhere on the web, but we'll start with the iTunes Store. Beyond its always-busy front page, the iTunes Store has a large number of educational podcasts. Open the iTunes software.
With iTunes now opened, select
iTunes Store in the menu on the left. A page full of panels and images will appear. In the iTunes STORE panel (in the upper left of the page that just appeared), choose iTunes U. This will show you new, featured, and popular higher education podcasts. (Note: Learn more about iTunes U on the Add Your Podcast to UTK on iTunes U page.)
To narrow your search, type keywords from a specific discipline in the search bar at the top right and add the word "podcast". A tiny icon of a video screen indicates a video podcast; the others are audio. Click the arrow next to each entry to view more information.
When you find an interesting podcast, subscribe to it. The files will appear under LIBRARY > Podcasts in the left menu, meaning that they're now on your computer.
Now what? You can learn more about handheld audio recorders or get
started on building a podcast of your own by going to the audio, enhanced, or video tutorials for Mac, or the audio, enhanced, or video tutorials for PC.