iBooks, iTunes U, and the learning materials revolution

2017

The affordability of, and accessibility to, lower cost course resources such as textbooks and supplementary materials in higher education is a growing concern in the United States. Currently, the process of textbook adoption has been left mostly unregulated at the federal, state, and university levels (Hill, 2015). In traditional settings, ultimately, the university selects the required textbooks and students are required to purchase them. In economic theory, this is referred to as the Principal Agent Problem

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2013

Content management and delivery systems are becoming central to the support and expansion of distance education at universities. A case study was conducted at a Midwestern university to examine the use of iTunes-U as a potential venue for supporting teacher education. Implications for research and next steps are discussed.

Library technology reports, 2011

We seem to have been on the cusp of a digital textbook "revolution" since at least 2005, and many would argue from even earlier. This chapter explores where the market stands in this transformation and the markers that will determine our progress going forward. The presentation is from the perspective of Ohio's statewide system of thirteen public university campuses, one medical college, twenty-four regional branch campuses, and twenty-three community colleges, as well as adult literacy and adult workforce centers. In addressing new learning opportunities from a state perspective, one size does not fit all, so this diversity is served through a variety of pilot projects. Higher education systems and the states in which they operate have a challenge and a problem. The challenge is how to graduate and retrain more of their citizenry to meet the economic and social needs of their states. For example, the state of Ohio's ten-year strategic plan calls for enrolling 230,000 new individuals by 2017 and increasing graduation rates an additional 20 percent. The ever-rising cost of education is the single biggest problem that must be faced to meet these goals. Since 1978, after adjusting for inflation, the cost of higher education has tripled and student surveys report that cost is the single greatest reason that makes them consider dropping-out or delaying their education

EdMedia: World Conference on Educational Media and Technology, 2011

We recorded and published on iTunes U videos of a Calculus course. We then investigated the students' perception of the usability and utility of the videos. Our results show that the video resources are indeed considered useful by the students, and that they are in fact a useful learning resource that improves academic results.

Campus-wide Information Systems, 2011

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that, with a bit of creative thinking, elements of certain university-wide projects (in this case study, establishing an iTunes U site) can be incorporated into student studies and assessment as real-world learning opportunities. Design/methodology/approach – Describes three different approaches adopted by Swinburne University of Technology to provide real-world learning opportunities for its students through its project to establish an iTunes U presence. Highlights the problems encountered with these approaches and what Swinburne would do differently to overcome these issues. Findings – iTunes U provides a real opportunity for showcasing student work and talent beyond the university. The key to success lies in embedding what you want the students to do deeply within assessment processes to ensure the work provides a relevant and valid learning experience. Part of this is establishing a realistic client-service-provider relationship with the students. Research limitations/implications – This paper is based on the observations and anecdotal feedback given to the content coordinator for iTunes U at Swinburne. Future research should seek ethics clearance so that students and staff can be interviewed about their experiences in more depth. Practical implications – This paper offers advice to other institutions looking to engage students in broader university projects, through integration with coursework. Originality/value – Hundreds of universities have iTunes U sites, or are exploring the use of iTunes U and/or YouTube. Ideas for how to successfully involve students in these broader university initiatives will be of interest to all these institutes.

Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 2021

This paper describes, explains, and evaluates the transformation of a text-based course into a multimodal, open-access course website. Based on an extensive needs analysis, a course website was selected to house materials for a tailormade thesis writing and presentations course for computer science majors. The theoretical underpinnings based on language, learning, and learners' beliefs were formulated. One of the core concepts was the desire to develop learner autonomy. With this pedagogic base, the course units' scope, focus, and objectives were decided, and then the course content was created. Some practical website design concepts, including the separation of content, styling, and behaviors, are discussed. Extensive usability testing was conducted using focus groups to identify potential improvements to the website's readability and usability. Since its initial release, both course tutors and learners have positively evaluated this course website. The currently deployed version is a user-friendly, learner-friendly website that is easy to maintain and update. Future work will focus on improving learner engagement and improving the user experience.

Business Communication Quarterly, 2012

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2015

Ebooks and mobile devices have quickly grown in popularity. E-books become mainstream and percentage of study materials available as ebooks is growing very rapidly. This paper examines how ebooks and mobile devices are being adopted by students. Results of research show the current use of electronic textbooks and mobile devices in full-time and distance study. The research was conducted using a questionnaire method. This paper provides an overview of the most popular ebook technologies and the technology used at The University of Ostrava. Furthermore, the author of the paper deals with different types of authoring tools for creating ebook, their advantages and disadvantages. This paper shows possible ways of creating and distributing electronic learning support for full-time and distance study.

Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology, 2013

In April 2012, the federal higher education system of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) embarked on the path to national adoption of the Apple iPad as the educational computing platform. The core objective of the adoption was improved learning and degree completion among students in academic programs in support of national development goals. From the National Higher Education development document, the goals are to - "Achieve individualized student learning consistent with “Post PC Era” trends; - Introduce of challenge-based learning or other progressive classroom pedagogy; - Increased student participation and motivation; - Enhance opportunities for cross-institutional collaboration between faculty members; - Increase faculty collaboration through cross-institutional repositories of learning objects; and - Facilitate the migration to e-books." The UAE has three institutions encompassing 20 campuses serving 50,000 students in its federal higher education: UAE University provides a research-intensive experience; Zayed University, a liberal arts, comprehensive environment; and HCT, professional programs. The HCT iPad program was envisioned by HCT’s Chancellor, His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research, and was led by the Vice Chancellor Dr Tayeb Kamali. This program builds on his history of entrepreneurship and e-learning initiatives, such as integrated wireless campus infrastructures, online learning and knowledge-management programmes, Dr Kamali has successfully built a cutting-edge institution that provides UAE youth with technological skills and the ability to innovate, while driving job creation in the region.

With the recent release of 5th generation iPods, this magic music box not only increases its storage amount, but "takes the stage for another encore;" and the new video feature has brought iPod fans a great deal of excitement. People can enjoy their favorite music and videos wherever and whenever. This phenomenon has drawn the attention from educators. Why not learning wherever and whenever? The University of Houston is one of several pioneering schools conducting research studies on how to turn the iPod into a portable learning tool to "tune" students to learning tracks. This paper will introduce the planning and implementation of our Podcasting research project, and discuss the practical application of how to setup Podcasting for instructional delivery to facilitate student learning and possibly improve learning outcomes.