University with iTunes U
The university has launching a channel on iTunes U, joined the likes of Carnegie Mellon and the University of Oxford, a program that will keep students, prospective students, faculty, staff and alumni update and in touch through a digital media platform, a new media specialist said.
“Everyone can uses it. It is a great way for the university to be out there, to promote itself,” new media specialist Amy Peterson said. “Since iTunes U is a very important thing right now in universities, which makes sense for us to have a site too.”
According to the Apple Website, universities use the site to share educational resources with their students. Museums and public broadcasting stations are making their content available to the world through iTunes U, too.
On the site of the University of iTunes, www.itunesu.tcu.edu, Viewers can download free videos of four categories: campus life, academics, featured events and spotlight. The content of the videos ranges from a campus tour to a writing workshop to coverage of the last two Schieffer Symposiums.
Viewers can also subscribe to whichever sections interest them, such as athletics or guest speakers, and the new content is automatically downloaded to your iTunes library viewer, Peterson said.
Peterson, who runs the site along with a few other officials, said via iTunes U, it will be possible to publish all the speeches and conferences for viewers to download and watch in his spare time.
She said that university officials hope the new website will encourage potential students.
“It is a great way for prospective students to kind of fall in love with the university,” Peterson said.
Amisus George, Associate Professor of Journalism, said the new site is a good idea.
“This’s just another really exciting, useful tool for us to use,” George said. “It is a win-win for all of us.”
ITunes U is directly accessible by the iPhone or iPod Touch through cellular and WiFi networks via the iTunes store, which makes it easy to check up on the university while on the go.
Rebecca Maffit, a sophomore elementary education major, said he definitely will check the new site.
“I think it is really cool, and it helps maintain the student population updated in a new, hip way that is really relevant to our times,” said Maffit.
