Monday 30 July 2012

Personalised teacher content added in iTunes U update

Apple this week expanded its iTunes U app to allow teachers to add personal curriculum.

As noted by All Things D, teachers can create up to 12 private courses without having to go through the verification process Apple previously required.

Also new in version 1.2 is an improved search feature that lets users search within posts, assignments, notes, and materials from any subscribed course. It's also easier to share courses with friends on Twitter or via the Mail app or iMessage, Apple said in the App Store description.

Apple rolled out an upgraded iTunes U app in January with access to course work and free educational content, as well as access for K-12 educators. Since then, the iTunes U app has been downloaded 14 million times, while 700 new K-12 schools and 125 colleges and universities have enrolled in the iTunes U program, Apple revealed during a Tuesday earnings call.

"Students take responsibility for their own learning and teachers are able to increase their interactions and personalise content time,"  the firm's CFO Peter Oppenheimer said on the call.

Apple yesterday touted the gains it has made in the education space. Sales of iPads to schools reached a new quarterly record and doubled year-over-year to reach just below 1 million shipments. Additionally, sales of the cheaper iPad 2 in the K-12 market remained strong.

Oppenheimer cited the Mansfield Independent School District in Texas, which, in May, announced an initiative to provide iPads to every student and teacher, so educators can drop their lessons plans online for instant access by students in or out of the classroom.

Published under license from Ziff Davis, Inc., New York, All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2012 Ziff Davis, Inc

Posted via email from Tony Gurney's Pre-posterous