iTunes U - Recent Upgrades
June 9th, 2009 - Recent Apple Changes to iTunes U
Apple has made a few recent changes to iTunes U which affect Miami's implementation of the service. Review the summary of changes below (read more details on Apple's web site):
- Increased the individual file size limit from 500MB to 1GB.
This will enable the upload of larger files. - New Parental Control feature in iTunes for iTunes U.
The latest enhancements to iTunes 8.1 include a new feature for iTunes U. In the Parental Control pane, when a user disables access to the iTunes Store, there is now an element that lets the user still allow access to iTunes U. When the iTunes Store is disabled but access to iTunes U is still allowed, the end user can only browse and search iTunes U. Clicking iTunes Store in the iTunes Source pane or the Home button in the navigation bar within the iTunes Store will automatically redirect the user to the main page of iTunes U. - Quick Tip: Using Advisory Labels.
As more K12 students are given direct access to iTunes U content, we strongly encourage iTunes U administrators to add and display the labels indicating whether a group or track contains explicit material. For more information, see Creating Group Types and Adding Content Using the Upload and Manage Files Webpage.
August 11th, 2008 - Miami on iTunes U Gets an Upgrade
Miami on iTunes U has been upgraded with a number of enhancements and new functions. This digital content distribution system, compatible with both Apple and Windows computers, is also now available for staff, as well as faculty and students.
The faculty and students participating in last fall's pilot implementation identified a number of ways to make Miami on iTunes U easier to use and more effective. The upgrade addresses many of the ideas suggested including:
- Link multiple courses and sections into one iTunes U site.
Similar to Blackboard, Miami on iTunes U can merge different sections of the same course together to eliminate the need to manage the same data in multiple locations. - Retain digital content in one site over multiple semesters.
iTunes U sites will not have to be recreated each semester. If a course instructor wants to keep files in one iTunes U site, she/he can simply link new courses and unlink old courses at will. - Add/Modify user access to an iTunes U site.
Instructors can add anyone with an active Miami account to an iTunes U site, as well as determine if the added individual may edit iTunes U content or view only. This feature is useful for faculty with graduate assistants, instructors wishing to share what they've done in their course with other instructors and for offering iTunes U site access to people who are interested in a specific topic posted in a course. - Create departmental and organizational iTunes U sites.
Much like Blackboard's organizational sites, departments and organizations are able to create iTunes U sites to either internally share content or open content to others*.
* The Office of University Communications will review requests made for public iTunes U sites.
If you have questions about the upcoming enhancements or have general questions about Miami on iTunes U, please let us know!