Apple goes back to school for iTunes U update

Tech giant Apple has made some changes to its education-focussed iTunes U application, adding the ability to build whole courses solely with an iPad tablet.

Apple's iTunes U software, which has been available since 2010, contains a whole host of educational information that allows teachers to create public and private courses that include lectures, assignments, books, and quizzes
iTunes U received a sizeable update today, primarily bringing course creation, management for teachers and student discussions to iPad,
“Education is at the core of Apple’s DNA and iTunes U is an incredibly valuable resource for teachers and students,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services.
“iTunes U features an amazing selection of academic materials for everyone around the world. Now, with the ability to better manage and discuss educational content, learning becomes even more personalised on iPad.”
The new in-app updates to iTunes U give teachers full course creation capabilities on iPad, with the ability to directly add rich content and learning materials from iWork, iBooks Author or what Apple described as any of the over 75,000 educational apps available for the tablet.
                          
Teachers can also use the device's camera to capture photos and videos to incorporate real-world subject matter into any course, making relevant content available to all students in an instant.
“iTunes U is the most powerful destination for bringing the entire educational experience to life on iPad,” said Fraser Speirs, head of computing and IT at Cedars School of Excellence in Scotland.
“By freeing teachers to create and organise courses right on iPad, educators can be better focused on enabling student participation both with the content and one another.”
Additionally, students using iPads can ask questions, start topic discussions and collaborate using the new Discussions feature. Teachers can participate in forums, as well, and will be able to moderate discussions.
iTunes U helps educators create courses including lectures, assignments, books, quizzes and more for millions of iOS users around the world.
Today, thousands of educational institutions are hosting over 7,500 public and thousands of private courses* encompassing the arts, sciences, health and medicine, education, business and more.

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