Apple brings Online Classrooms to iPad with iTunes U app

If you’ve had the college experience within the last decade, chances are you’ve been exposed to a shoddy online class management system. Students are forced to collaborate in these environments, for better or worse, and teachers make their best efforts to dole out grades and assignments paperlessly… Apparently, Apple thinks there’s something to this concept, and the new iTunes U app for iPad appears to be their attempt at doing it right.

At first glance, iTunes U for iPad is a simple way for instructors and students to interact with things like a class syllabus, course overview, office hours, or document sharing. In additions, students can use the app as an alternative way to sign up for classes.

But iTunes U can be used for more than just keeping tabs on everything. Students should really benefit from its note-taking features and integration with the new iBooks 2. Teachers, too, can utilize iTunes U to direct students toward specific sections of a text. And when it comes time, assignments can be added to a course—to be checked complete once they’re accomplished by the student.

I’m sure you’re hoping your school will be one of the early adopters of this approach, but for the time being only a privileged few get to experience education iPad-style. There are only about five schools on the list so far (including Duke and Yale), but give iTunes U a chance to prove itself and we should expect to see it on a lot more campuses soon.

About the Author

Devin Wieland

 

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