Students can download

course material from iTunes U

Earlier this year, WKU Academic Technology created its own site through Apple’s iTunes U.

iTunes U is a free educational tool that aids in the distribution of information to students, faculty or anyone across the world who wishes to access knowledge, according to Apple’s website.

An iTunes U site allows a university to make digital content, such as podcasts or lecture captures created by professors, available for download.

When WKU first created its own iTunes U site, the accessible content was restricted to those in specific courses, but now the site can be accessed by the public, said John Bowers, director for Academic Technology.

This new access is beneficial when a professor has multimedia files that he or she wishes to provide for public download to iPhone and iPod users, Bowers said.

Bowers said public content can be viewed and downloaded by everyone who visits the WKU iTunes U site through the iTunes Store.

“The site has proven popular,” Bowers said. “There were 8,500 tracks downloaded in September off the restricted course site available alone. We don’t have information available about the public site yet.”

iTunes U was created to make finding digital resources easier, Bowers said.

“It makes it easy to put an audio or a video file on your iPod or iPhone,” Bowers said. “It’s easier than if it was on a more complicated website. With iTunes U, you can download it straight to a device.”