Everything You Must Know about iTunes U and iTunes U for Android

With the growing levels of enrollment in universities, more often than not, students find themselves not gaining as much from a lecture due to congestion in the classroom. At the same, costs of education have increasingly been on the rise. These two factors have compromised the net value gained by students, especially those in congested classes. It therefore requires an extra effort on the part of each learner if they have to achieve maximum benefit from any of those courses or classes. The internet offers a lot of learning material; but this may not be customized enough to each course. This is what gives meaning to iTunes.

• Part 1. Background Information
• Part 2. What Is iTunes U
• Part 3. Resources on iTunes U
• Part 4. A Sample of Institutions with Great Content on iTunes U
• Part 5. Advantages of iTunes U
• Part 6. How to Use iTunes U
• Part 7. Frequently Asked Questions about iTunes U
• Part 8. Other Alternative Apps for iTunes U Included
• Part 9. Why There Is No iTunes on Android
• Part 10. Top 3 iTunes U Alternative App on Android Device
• Part 11. How to Sync iTunes U to Android Device

Part 1. Background Information

Students from all over the world can access the world's largest online resource center with educational material from leading universities in the world absolutely free of charge. Every student can access absolutely any course on the largest online educational catalogue; from the study of Shakespeare to the study of the cosmos.

Those who may not understand their teachers and need further clarification, those who are too busy and want to learn on the go or in the comfort of their homes and houses, and those who may not afford the hundred or millions of dollars to pay for a course at the leading universities could now have a chance to enjoy the benefits of classroom. The added advantage is that you have the pleasure of accessing a variety of lecturers.

It is possible that in the next couple of years, iTunes U will definitely give new meaning to the education industry just as i Tunes gave new meaning to the music industry. Whereas universities don't earn from posting content on iTunes U, they benefit in strengthening their brand-names across the globe, strengthening their alumni communities and having the opportunity to give back to society.

Part 2. What Is iTunes U

iTunes U is one of the Apple store's specialized areas that allows for Higher Education Institutions of learning, non-profit educational institutions and K-12 instutions to produce audio and visual content that is then made available for subscription and downloading to learners. Through synchronizing with mobile devices, users can have the advantage of viewing their educational content on their personal computers or maximizing their time and listen to the content while on the move.

iTunes U is said to have started a few years ago (around 2007) with a few universities and institutions posting content on iTunes.

Part 3. Resources on iTunes U

The content on iTunes U basically consists of course lectures, lab demonstrations, sports items and campus tours among others in the form of audios, videos, PDFs or word documents among others. More than three hundred universities and colleges participate in contributing content to the iTunes U page. Here are some of the universities and colleges which contribute content to iTunes U

• Stanford
• MIT
• Arizona State
• Queen's University
• University of South Florida
• Bowdoin
• Broome community college
• Reformed Theological Seminary
• Concordia Seminary
• Seattle Pacific
• DePaul University
• Texas A & M
• Duke
• UC Berkeley
• UMBC
• Vanderbilt University
• Michigan Tech
• NJIT
• Otis College of Art and Design
• Penn St.

The rest of the list of universities and colleges who have their content on iTunes U can be accessed at the following link;

The program on iTunes U also includes content from non-higher-education institutions. They include such institutions as 92nd St. Y, The Museum of Modern Art, Public Radio International and Smithsonian Folkways.

Lastly, it includes content from K-12 educational institutions; the content is from a variety of international educational institutions and state departments of education.

Part 4. A Sample of Institutions with Great Content on iTunes U

With more than 300 universities and colleges providing content, users have a great deal of work in finding the best of resources. Highlighting on a few universities and colleges which have stood out in their course content could help with research on iTunes, here are a few of those institutions;

Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT has drawn from its strength in delivering online courses and has thus efficiently and effectively delivered content that consciously incorporates online learners (an example is MIT's Walter H.G Lewin's Physics course content). Its other strong points include Introduction to Computer Science and Programming, Introduction to Psychology, Single Variable Calculus, Introduction to Biology, and Physics I: Classical Mechanics among others. You can find topics touching on virtually any course. On iTunes U, MIT offers downloadable free content. You could access the same content from their website.

Stanford University: some of the most popular of Stanford University's content are An Evening with Thomas Jefferson, Teaching & Learning, Introduction to Robotics, Introduction to Chemical Engineering, Fine Arts, Film Studies, History, History 122: History of U.S. Since 1877, Introduction to Linear Dynamical Systems, Philosophy, Historical Jesus, Journalism and America's Jesus. Its course content is majorly from the continuing studies division and includes a few of undergraduate courses.

UC Berkeley: an example of its content is History 5: European Civilization from the Renaissance to the Present. The institution offers a number of courses as iTunes U; hundred of lecturers, and recording of symposia, special events, panel discussions among others.

Yale University: some of its works include; How to Write a Business Plan, and Law among many others. Most of Yale University's open course program content are available on iTunes U.

Open University: some of its works include; Exploring Learning and Teaching in Real and Virtual Worlds, L192 Bon départ: Beginners' French Introduction, L194 Portales: Beginners' Spanish, L193: Rundblick: Beginners' German. The Open University has devoted itself to ensuring more and more of its content is posted in i Tunes U.

University of Oxford: examples of its works include; General Philosophy, Chemistry Quantum Mechanics, Cancer in the Developing World, Building a Business: Entrepreneurship and the Ideal Business Plan. Students and learners in general will definitely benefit from these resources.

University of Cambridge: There is so much that one can learn from the University of Cambridge's i Tunes U content. There is such content as Anthropology, and Finance & Economics

New Jersey Institute of Technology: 28 courses as of February, 2010, they have posted courses on science and technology, with a few on Literatures.

University of California, Davis: as of February 2010, it had posted 19 courses, most of which are on computer science, psychology and biology.

These are just a few among the some many institutions that have great content on iTunes U.

Part 5. Advantages of iTunes U

1. No cost involved

It is not easy to enter the gates of such prestigious universities like Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and MIT among others. Apart from the rigorous process of admission, the cost for many is a key factor that hinders many from joining such institutions. With iTunes U, none need to have an excuse for not having the knowledge that is requisite for performance from these and many more other institutions. Whatever subject or course, however simple or advanced, there is plenty of information that will see you get an understanding of each topic, course or lecture.

For a teacher, having students watch course content from other universities like Harvard, Yale and MIT before coming to class could help enhance the understanding of course content. Once they are in class, the teacher could now engage them in much deeper and reflective learning.

2. Effective delivery of course content with media files

Research indicates that the use of the senses for learning and especially seeing and hearing helps learners grasp concepts easily. In case one wants to incorporate video files and audio files for their class, the best option would be to use iTunes. iTunes offers great storage for such files, especially for those listed in UTexas domain. The students could then review the content before class and then the teacher would do further explanation in class.

3. Time stamped notes

The time stamped notes inside a video feature that iTunes U is a great tool that teachers as well as students could make use of in enhancing their learning experience.

Part 6. How to Use iTunes U

iTunes U couldn't be any better than what the interface offers; it is user friendly, you do not need any training for you to go through the page.

To start with, you will need to get iTunes installed in their computers. It is available for Mac operating systems and windows operating systems; whichever one suites you download it.

On the toolbar that is across the top of the main page, select ‘iTunes U'. With this you are in iTunes U. Once inside, there are categories through which you could browse to find the information you need. They include: selection by school, subject, most downloaded and lastly noteworthy courses.

The content is in the form of PDF, videos, audios, series of lectures and ebooks. Select the format in which you want the content and download it. These resources once downloaded can be used via a computer, an iPad, or iPod.

Part 7. Frequently Asked Questions about iTunes U

Q1. Where can one find the iTunes U app?

Answer: The iTunes U app can be freely downloaded from the app store on an iPad, iPhone and iPod.

Q2. Can the iTunes U app be found any country that has an app store?

Answer: Yes, the iTunes U app can be found in any country that has an app store.

Q3. What do I need in order to use the iTunes U app?

Answer: iTunes U app. You need to have Ios 5 or iTunes 10.5.2 or later if you are using an iPad, iPod and iPhone. You must have an account with iTunes store for you to download content from iTunes U catalog.

Q4. How can one access the iTunes U app catalog?

Answer: On the iTunes U app, tap on the iTunes U icon to view your bookshelf. In the upper corner of your bookshelf, tap the catalog button to reveal the iTunes U catalog. The catalog offers more than 800,000 free course content inform of lectures, films, videos and other learning.

Q5. Are the courses and content on iTune U downloaded right to my iPad, iPod and iPhone?

Answer: Yes, when you tap the download button on your iPhone, iPad and iPod, the item is automatically downloaded to your bookshelf.

Q6. Can I use my computer to download content from iTunes?

Answer: Yes you can, but there is content that would need the iTunes U app to be available, it would be good if you have the iTunes U app.

Q7. Can one back up content that is downloaded from iTunes?

Answer: Yes, the content that you download from iTunes U catalog is available for making a backup whenever you are able to synch your device with a computer.

Q8. Does iTunes U limit the content that one can download

Answer: iTunes U does not limit the content that one can download on their bookshelf on their device; it all depends on the space available on your device.

Q9. What if I do not find my instructors course content on iTunes U?

Answer: If for one reason or another you are not able to find your instructor's course content, you may need to contact him for the course URL, key in the URL into your browser to access the course content.

Q10. Can one create notes?

Answer: There is an inbuilt notes tab on iTunes app that enables users to create notes for a given course, access bookmarks and book notes, and also highlight content in books for a given course using the notes tab. To use this feature, go to the notes button and tap on book notes.

Q11. Does the iTunes U app play videos and audio files included in the course content?

Answer: Yes, iTunes plays all videos and audio files included in whatever content found on iTunes.

Q12. Is there any valid alternative to iTunes U for Android?

Answer: Yes, there are several alternatives to iTunes U for Androids, e.g, tunesviewer, TED etc.

Q13. Can iTunes U be used on Android?

Answer: No, not now, it is only designed to be used on Apple products. Recent news reveal that there are plans by Apple for the same in the future.

Part 8. Other Alternative Apps for iTunes U Included

1. SynciOS: This is a free app offering an alternative to iTunes.

2. PodTrans: This app scores highly with regards to transferring files from a computer to any given device. It is used to transfer songs and videos to iPads, iPods and iPhones that do not have iTunes without erasing original content. Unlike iTunes, it can still be used to transfer file from mobile devices back to the PC-iTunes cannot do this.

3. Ecoute: The widget is customizable controlling your music and importing music, movies as well as podcasts. It offers connectivity with social media platforms. Air play supports streaming music and the inbuilt browser enables for music selection iTunes library for playing.

4. Hulu Plus: This app enables you to enjoy classic series including Battlestar and Lost Gallactica over WiFi, 4G or 3G. It can keep the tracts of what you watch and go on to watch the next part.

5. History: It provides youw with lots of episodes. If you have many episodes want to watch most, you can create a watchlist for them. Inaddtionally, you can explore selection of clips about the most fascinating categories of history.

6. It helps to manage your personal media no matter where you keep it. That lets you enjoy your media on any device. Besides, you're able to stream music, videos, photos and home movies to your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad from your home computer running Plex Media Server.