Thing 14: iTunes U

I've never head of iTunes U before.  In fact, I thought it was a typo when I first read the topic for this thing.  My first instinct about this was that it was more like an online library.  It was a new way to find resources, and I started off by using it just for myself.  However, as it often goes- the more information that is available, the harder it is to find it.  iTunes U, while high in the amount of knowledge, was very difficult to find exactly what I wanted.

I searched for "physical education" and found tons of information.  I pulled up a series of videos by the Berlin Brandenburg International School.  It had about 12 entries of videos of "how to's."  There was a whole section on trapeze that would be awesome... if we had trapeze.  However, it gave me an idea that if I could find simple videos such as these for topics we do teach, that I could use them to post to Schoology for my classes to view on their own time (or in class on iPads) so they could see how various skills look when done correctly.  Outside of finding videos for students to watch, I didn't see any other reason to use iTunes U for students in my class.

If I were to suggest a course for an administrator to look into, it would be Educational Leadership by ASCD.  During my master's program, I read a lot of great articles by ASCD, and the same can be said about the information that is included in iTunes U.  They have specific topics that there are videos for, such as how to help a teacher who is new to the profession and teacher effectiveness.  In fact, there was an entire album discussing the Whole Child.  Our administrators could possibly use this information to help plan professional development activities during our institute days.

Overall, I don't think I'd use iTunes U for my students.  It was difficult to use.  I would use the information that I found though. I'd just put it through Schoology.  I would use this as another avenue to find more information for myself though.