iTunes U

I've only recently been introduced to the many different educational possibilities that our brave new, interconnected world has to offer, and I must say, with the odd gloriously brave failure that crops up every once in a while, that thus far, I've yet to be disappointed by the efforts of Apple to push the boundaries of technology. Case in point: iTunes U.

According to Apple, they're simply offering a service that allows higher learning institutions to disseminate audio and video resources to its students through the, by now, intuitive iTunes interface. In the end, these institutions get to supplement classroom instruction by allowing their students to bring substantive content with them wherever they go.

Colleges and universities build their own iTunes U sites. Faculty post content they create for their classes. Students download what they need, and go. Learning isn’t just for the classroom anymore. It’s for anytime and anyplace you’ve got a Mac, a PC, or an iPod.

So far, iTunes looks to be, at the very least, one of the gloriously brave failures that will, eventually, lead to something truly revolutionary. I've been to the iTunes store, and have delighted in the many FREE and varied resources that schools are offering for download.

The video podcasts of Professor Hubert Dreyfus on "Existentialism in Literature and Film" are worth visiting UC Berkeley's section for. Dreyfus is considered one the world's leading analysts of postmodern philosophy from Edmund Husserl to Michel Foucault, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and especially Martin Heidegger.

Stanford is also offering a wonderful series of audio lectures on literature, particularly the classics, courtesy of Professor Susanna Braund, whose analysis of the Aeneid is both lively and comprehensive.

The Web is opening up, and a brave new world emerges. Excuse me while I put on my iPod. I have a class to attend.

Photo Credits:

Picture of iTunes U comes courtesy of Webware.