I’ve just realized that I haven’t posted this post Melissa Cheater, one of the 6 readers who did some guest blogging this year at EduWeb, sent me Wednesday morning after getting back to the office.
Ken Ronkowitz, Media & Instructional Tech manager at NJIT and an excellent higher ed blogger at Serendipity 35, presented last Tuesday in from of a room full of people his session titled “iTunesU – Managing & Marketing University Media Assets.”
This is what Melissa wrote about his presentation.
I might as well have not spent the Thursday before EduWeb diving into iTunesU and its offerings, because Ken blew the lid off so to speak with his presentation yesterday morning (it definitely woke me up at 8:30AM).
One: there are more than 300 “iTunesU†institutions. The 16 linked directly on the iTunesU homepage are just the lucky few (or “sweet 16â€) chosen by apple for a joint program.
Two: all that great public content is literally the tip of the iceberg.
Yes, you CAN post password secured content so that you can post course content for students without giving away intellectual property to students.
While there are pages full of NJIT courses on iTunes for its students, Ken reports that the true value of it is in marketing externally.
Show off your most engaging profs, don’t post duller courses publicly as they will turn off prospective students.
The subscription nature of podcasts mean you are in the playlists of students, prospectives, alumni and parents on a regular basis, creating a sustained connection. And No, iPods and apples are not a requirement of hopping on the bandwagon – faculty can upload media straight from their regular browser.
iTunesU is free, but it does take time, so is it worth it? NJIT had 10,602 downloads in May, after joining the “Sweet 16.†June yielded 20,955 downloads and July promises to bring in more than 40,000. So yeah, I’d say it’s worth it.
Karine’s Note: If you want to learn more about iTunes U, Ken will share information, tips and tricks in a webinar he is scheduled to present for Higher Ed Experts in November. More info about this 3-webinar series about podcasting that will also feature Micah Ovadia and Dennis Miller can be found at www.higheredexperts.com/podcasting.
