Alongside the flashy appearance of DRM-free tracks on iTunes this morning, Apple slipped out another iTunes-related announcement: iTunes U—the “U” is for Utopian Idealism. iTunes U is a collection of educational content on iTunes: podcasts, lectures, and videos from the likes of Stanford, UC Berkeley, MIT, and Duke (I particularly like Stanford’s motto: Stanford to go. In your home. In your car. In your pocket. In your head).
Consider iTunes U your trick to getting a world class education without the high price tags and pedantic need of “being there.” It’s classes when you want them. Take Existentialism in Literature from Berkeley, Black Ships and Samurai from MIT, and the ever popular Homeland Security from Texas A&M. Learn science, philosophy, languages, all from the comfort of your own couch, without anybody chastising you as you crunch through your bag of Cheetos.
And when your parents shake their heads and give you a look that suggests perhaps you’d better consider moving out sometime soon, just point to your iPod with a smug look and say “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you. I’m learning.”
I've had lots of fun with iTunesU. Apple has been very easy to work with, and the site generates lots of traffix back to our main site.
You can find my radio show on Texas A&M's site, under "The Battalion"