Apple welcomes students to iTunes U

via ars technica

Along with announcement of iTunes 7.2 and DRM-free music, Apple has also announced a new section in the iTunes Store, iTunes U.

“iTunes U makes it easy for anyone to access amazing educational material from many of the country’s most respected colleges and universities,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “Education is a lifelong pursuit and we’re pleased to give everyone the ability to download lectures, speeches and other academic content for free.”

Working with universities in the US and Canada, 16 institutions are currently featured. This includes Duke, MIT, Stanford, and Berkeley, with each college creating its own "university" within the iTunes Store. While educational material is featured, video and audio podcasts also cover other aspects of campus life, such as athletic events and institution-centric material. Going to the Texas A&M University section, one can download podcasts from the George Bush Presidential Library Center, though sadly there is no accompanying celebrity playlist by the 41st President of the United States.

Browsing through the individual sites, the content varies. Stanford and MIT are among the better-developed, but even those universities have only a fraction of the content possible when considered against the potential offering. Considering this is the first day of "class" at iTunes U, this is not particularly surprising. Yet this is not a new idea. Institutions like MIT, Stanford, and Berkeley have been providing podcasts for years, though the questions relating to the effect on college life, such as the need to go to class when you can listen to lectures in your bed, have yet to be answered. Perhaps it is appropriate then that the top download at iTunes U is an introduction to Existentialism. "Being in the university" may never be the same again.

As for Apple, this is yet another coup for the company that has been on a multi-year roll. It has created yet another closed ecosystem involving the iPod, which means more content to fill those ubiquitous devices. And as long as you are downloading some free class material, why not browse for some music to buy? Apple goes to the head of the class again.