2008 Woodie Awards
Pacific signs on with iTunes U
What do iPods and PU have in common?
Ryan Rosback
Issue date: 5/9/08 Section: News
Pacific University has gone digital, now becoming accessible through the new Apple feature, iTunes U.
Teachers may now post lectures, class discussions or any other audio files online, allowing students to download and listen to class materials from their computer or on the go using a MP3 player device.
The process works similar to Podcasts in which single files can be chosen to download, or one can subscribe to a particular class and automatically receive all files when they become available.
iTunes U is available through a recent update of the free software program iTunes.
Using the feature, students may also receive materials from classes at other schools around the country.
Pacific is merely in its infancy stage of using the program, making content only accessible to those with a PUNet ID.
Eventually, when teachers become more rehearsed in using the feature, all content will become global and available to everyone.
So far, only a handful of teachers have utilized the program, but more are expected to as it begins to catch on.
Jennifer Hardacker, professor of media arts, has used the feature as a showcase of students' work.
Most notably, she has posted projects from her sound design course that feature fictional audio pieces created by groups of students, including an eerie campus walking tour.
Hardacker was one of just more than a dozen of teachers who received a bonus lecture on how to use Podcasts and other iTunes features.
She hopes that soon more teachers begin to use the program and that eventually students may use it as a forum for discussion.
Until Pacific's content is made public, iTunes U can be accessed from the Pacific website simply by logging in with a PUNet ID.
Teachers may now post lectures, class discussions or any other audio files online, allowing students to download and listen to class materials from their computer or on the go using a MP3 player device.
The process works similar to Podcasts in which single files can be chosen to download, or one can subscribe to a particular class and automatically receive all files when they become available.
iTunes U is available through a recent update of the free software program iTunes.
Using the feature, students may also receive materials from classes at other schools around the country.
Pacific is merely in its infancy stage of using the program, making content only accessible to those with a PUNet ID.
Eventually, when teachers become more rehearsed in using the feature, all content will become global and available to everyone.
So far, only a handful of teachers have utilized the program, but more are expected to as it begins to catch on.
Jennifer Hardacker, professor of media arts, has used the feature as a showcase of students' work.
Most notably, she has posted projects from her sound design course that feature fictional audio pieces created by groups of students, including an eerie campus walking tour.
Hardacker was one of just more than a dozen of teachers who received a bonus lecture on how to use Podcasts and other iTunes features.
She hopes that soon more teachers begin to use the program and that eventually students may use it as a forum for discussion.
Until Pacific's content is made public, iTunes U can be accessed from the Pacific website simply by logging in with a PUNet ID.
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