Blog6 - iTuneU

If you have an iPhone, iPod, iPad or any of the other Apple products, you may already be acquainted with iTunes, but for those who are not, iTunes may have only been for putting music on your iPod at one time but it has developed into a whole library of useful items for education.  The App store has a number of useful Apps for your device that might prove useful for your student, but today I would like to talk about something you may not have looked at, namely iTuneU.  I would also like to talk a little about some of the podcasts available on Itunes.  If you are really serious about helping your child learn, there are a whole series of education courses developed for teaching grade school children. One such series was put out by the state of California, and you might want to look at everything else that is available.  One of the interesting things about iTuneU is that you can find something for any age, and any subject.  Have you ever wanted to go to Harvard, Yale Princeton, Cornell, MIT or you name the University of your choose, you will find full classwork, lectures and all on iTuneU, or discussions by the experts.  Want to learn computer programming? Check out MIT's opencourseware under Engineering and then Computer science.  Their first course in Python and the book is even available on the Internet for free.  Want to learn a new language? You'll find almost any language you would like to learn on iTuneU.
Let's talk for a bit about podcasts or netcasts as they are sometimes called.  If you aren't familiar with podcasts, you're in for a treat.  Pick any subject that you are interested in, or want to know more about, and you will find a podcast on it.  They can range from a few seconds to an hour or more. They can be just sound or they can be set up like a TV show.  If you want to find out about the latest in technology I suggest that you check out Twit.TV, it is available on iTunes or at Twit.TV on the net, Leo Laport, weekend radio host, has set up a number of weekly shows on what he has named "The Twit Network" . Besides his weekly radio show, you will find a variety of subjects in the tech world from digital cameras to cell phones and beyond. If you want to hear about a variety subjects. or stimulate a student, try the Ted Talks from the Ted conferences. The Ted conferences feature the greatest minds in the world. These are super creative people in every respect.  Listen to a variety of podcast and it will stimulate your creative juices. If you have some older students in the house, turn them onto something they enjoy by sharing a recording with them.  Other things you can find on iTunes include books and Audible books, iTunes is available on the Mac or Windows platforms for free. Just download iTunes from http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/.