Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,290
30,375


CNET briefly noted late last week that Apple's iTunes U channel [iTunes Store] offering education content through the iTunes Store has surpassed 100 million downloads.
According to Apple, one of the most popular areas of iTunes U has been that of the United Kingdom-based Open University (iTunes link), whose learning categories include Arts and Humanities, Business and Management, Childhood and Youth, Health and Social Care, Law, Psychology, and Science. The academic institution says it caters to at least 150,000 undergraduate and 30,000 postgraduate students, more than 25,000 of whom live outside the U.K.
iTunes U offers over 200,000 downloadable audio and video files from several hundred sources, including many top universities. While iTunes U was officially launched in mid-2007, its roots date back significantly further to an initial debut as a partnership with Stanford University in October 2005.

Article Link: iTunes U Surpasses 100 Million Downloads
 

Doctor Q

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 19, 2002
39,777
7,498
Los Angeles
With iTunes U we could each spend 24 hours a day educating ourselves about random topics. Maybe it'll come in handy when we're on the Jeopardy! TV show.

I've been watching an MIT lecture on the evolution of trichromatic color vision. I'm glad I don't have to sit in a cold lecture hall to see it and that I can watch it whenever I want. The only trouble is that the lecturer won't answer my questions if I raise my hand!
 

flashy-cat

macrumors regular
Apr 8, 2007
134
124
UK
Good resource. The MIT maths and physics lectures have been invaluable in my UK Open University degree.
 

MacFly123

macrumors 68020
Dec 25, 2006
2,340
0
I LOVE iTunes U! What a wonderful resource we have at our fingertips to be able to audit classes from Ivy League schools and universities all over the world for FREE. To me, education is a life pursuit and I wish many, many more people would realize the power they have available to them! Oh how we take things for granted!

Thanks to Apple and all of the schools! :)
 

RedTomato

macrumors 601
Mar 4, 2005
4,155
442
.. London ..
It's frustrating for me as I love learning about new stuff, but last time I looked, there was nothing that had subtitles or came with a script file.

So as I'm deaf, iTunes U is all inaccessible to me.

I've just had another look, and in the Power Search, there is now an option to search for files with closed captioning in iTunes U.

That's nice, but no matter what I search for, nothing comes up. Even entering generic topics like 'history' or 'ecology' returns zilch.

Shame, as apart from access issues, subtitle files are a massive boon for search and metadata engines, helping you find that exact segment of audio / video you need.
 

Jodlesx

macrumors member
Mar 29, 2009
60
0
RedTomato: I think some Universities are better at providing scripts than other. Though as far as I remember, many lectures at MIT have transcripts on the lecture's website (usually there's a link on the iTunes U page, or a quick google will get you there). For example, there was a thorough transcript of the Linear Algebra lectures at MIT.

But I agree that on a general basis they are lacking, and they should also be implemented into iTunes U in some way.

Edit:
Here's the Math I was talking about:
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Mathematics/18-06Spring-2005/CourseHome/index.htm

Here's a specific example of one of the lectures:
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Mathematics/18-06Spring-2005/VideoLectures/detail/lecture02.htm
 

ravenvii

macrumors 604
Mar 17, 2004
7,585
492
Melenkurion Skyweir
It's frustrating for me as I love learning about new stuff, but last time I looked, there was nothing that had subtitles or came with a script file.

So as I'm deaf, iTunes U is all inaccessible to me.

I've just had another look, and in the Power Search, there is now an option to search for files with closed captioning in iTunes U.

That's nice, but no matter what I search for, nothing comes up. Even entering generic topics like 'history' or 'ecology' returns zilch.

Shame, as apart from access issues, subtitle files are a massive boon for search and metadata engines, helping you find that exact segment of audio / video you need.

x324523452345

This goes for all movies and TV shows on iTunes too. Support HR 3101!

Transcripts are swell, but they render even watching the lecture a waste of time in most cases.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.