Lectures now on your iPod
Feb 22, 2010
by Open University and Technical University Delft
From 2 February 2010, the Open University and TU Delft will be making part of their knowledge base freely available via iTunes U by Apple, the first universities in the Netherlands to do so. The release of this range of knowledge on iTunes U, which is taking place at the E-learning congress in Eindhoven, represents another step forward by the universities as they pursue their policies relating to the provision of accessible educational materials.
The move puts the two universities in league with internationally renowned institutions like Stanford University, Harvard, Oxford University, UC Berkeley and MIT, who also publish on iTunes U.
Knowledge more accessible
TU Delft and the OU will be using this innovative platform to make recordings of lectures and educational and course materials available from a wide variety of subjects. Users will be able to watch or listen to the audio and video recordings – wherever they are, and whenever they want – on their Mac, PC, iPod or iPhone. Cees Brouwer, member of the Executive Board of the OU, says, “With the help of iTunes U, we are making part of our high-quality academic teaching material easily accessible to anyone who wants it. This is a new and contemporary distribution channel, which we at the OU are very keen to use.” Paul Rullmann, member of the Executive Board at TU Delft, adds, “Our presence on iTunes U is an extension of our Open Course Ware activities in which we, together with the OU, have led the field for many years now. By opening up our lectures and other lessons, we are not only making life easier for our students, but also helping to enhance the development of knowledge in society – one of the core tasks of any university.”
Available by mobile too
For the latest generation of students, who have grown up with the internet, education via podcast or vodcast is a powerful additional medium. Paul Rullmann, from TU Delft, explains: “Experience has shown that students use lectures that they can ‘replay’ primarily as works of reference. This means they can concentrate on what is being said during the actual lectures without having to worry about writing it all down. Additionally, being physically present is still useful (because you can ask questions) and enjoyable (because of the contact with fellow students and teaching staff).”
Both universities have every intention of expanding upon the range of knowledge already available. The ultimate aim for the OU is to provide more material via iTunes U, including giving students assignments using podcasts and vodcasts. The material on iTunes U includes all the degree programmes currently offered by the OU: Psychology, Law, Computer Science, Business Studies, Environmental Science, Didactics and General Cultural Studies. The site is at www.ou.nl/itunesu.
The TU Delft content is focusing initially on lectures in Civil Engineering & Water, Architecture, Electrical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering. The entire course ‘Introduction to Water Management’ from the Bachelor’s programme is included, for example, and many more lectures are due to follow during the next twelve months. TU Delft would like to work towards a system whereby lectures are recorded automatically and immediately put onto iTunes. TU Delft can be found on iTunes U at http://itunesu.tudelft.nl.
Open learning material
The Open University is constantly working on the latest developments in digital technology which it can use for its distance learning. Cees Brouwer: “Providing our material online and disseminating knowledge via e-book readers or via mobile phones for free or at very low cost fits neatly with our policies in relation to open educational resources (OER) – making our educational materials freely (at least in part) available. We have been in the vanguard in this OER movement for a long time, which is why we, together with Kennisnet, have been commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to develop Wikiwijs. It is therefore only natural that the Open University and iTunes U by Apple should collaborate in a similar manner.”
About iTunes U
With 200,000 lectures, presentations, videos and podcasts, iTunes U is one the largest and fastest-growing sources of free internet content in the field of education. iTunes U allows users to watch and listen to lectures on their Mac or PC, or their iPod or iPhone, giving them access to knowledge at any time, wherever they are. iTunes U is currently used by around 200 leading institutions worldwide.