Northwestern students can now pick up a lecture or two while listening to their favorite songs. Beginning Feb. 17, Northwestern began providing free downloadable audio and video lectures, news reports, cultural events and more through iTunes U, a division of Apple’s iTunes store that offers free educational content.
In its first week, the site has garnered 3,098 views. Users have previewed 740 tracks and actually downloaded 706 tracks, according to Harlan Wallach, architect for media technologies.
“It’s another opportunity for us to showcase the wonderful things Northwestern has done,” said Al Cubbage, vice president of university relations. The development of the university’s iTunes U account follows the addition of the YouTube channel about a year ago.
The university’s YouTube space has seen over 35,000 channel views. Its most popular video, “The Magic Flute, Act I” has been viewed 50,007 times.
“iTunes is a place where people are going,” Cubbage said. “You want to have your product where people are going.”
Unique to the new iTunes channel is the fact that the content is now portable.
“One of the first things iTunes U does allow is the support and delivery of content to very mobile devices,” said Bob Taylor, director of NUIT academic and research technologies. “We know these mobile devices are becoming very important to students and faculty.”
iTunes U supports high-definition video, superior to that of YouTube. It’s also a friendly environment for audio posting, said Bob Davis, associate director of NUIT academic and research technologies.
The material on the site is split up into categories of On Campus, Arts, and Academics and Research. While many of the videos already focus on academic subjects, Northwestern’s iTunes U channel will eventually be used for teaching purposes in the classroom.
“[The site] allows us not only to have a public presence on iTunes U, [but also] it allows us to have a private course area,” Davis said. Potentially, a controlled access area unavailable to the public would be linked to Blackboard to allow students to access content specifically related to their courses.
Another focus this year will be to find more audio and video content providers on campus, Taylor said.
“If this is something the faculty wishes to pursue, we’re absolutely willing to facilitate that,” said Wendy Woodward, director of technology support services.
After the launch of Northwestern’s YouTube channel and interest in iTunes U from the student population, the NUIT Academic and Research Technologies department really focused its attention on working with Apple about a year ago, according to Taylor. The university does not pay Apple anything to operate the site.
“It’s a great way for students to learn on the go,” said Mike McGee, ASG academic vice-president. ASG passed a bill this fall in support of a relationship with iTunes U. McGee said he hopes that students will eventually have the ability to review lectures online.
“[iTunes U] is another communication tool in our toolbox,” Woodward said.
The iTunes platform is another way to reach out to those outside of Northwestern, and especially prospective students. “If you can get things about the university in a digital place where people are already going, it’s easier,” Cubbage said.