Apple announced today that iTunes U, a learning oriented section of the iTunes store that features free content created by universities and other large intuitions around the globe has hit the 300 Million downloads mark. This milestone marks a level of free, public access to knowledge that parallels the creation of public libraries.
iTunes U represents a collection of courses, podcasts and videos from many of the worlds most prestigious universities. Some of the participating universities in the iTunes U program include Harvard, MIT, Cambridge, Oxford, University of Melbourne and Université de Montréal. Subjects represented in iTunes U range from ancient history to developing for the iPhone. “iTunes U makes it easy for people to discover and learn with content from many of the world’s top institutions,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services.
iTunes U also covers some courses that are more hands on and less academic. Entrepreneurs may be interested to explore courses like:
- Business and Management by Yale University
- Idea Cast by Harvard University
- Entrepreneurship and Innovation by University of Virginia
In addition to the universities listed above apple mentioned that with the addition of content from universities in nations like China, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico and Singapore there are more then 350,000 files available for download for free to end users, from the 800 universities that have active iTunes U accounts currently.
iTunes U is a part of the iTunes store, which is most famous for bringing about the .99 cent music download to the masses, and creating a platform for paid TV and feature film downloads. iTunes U content works on Mac computers, Phone, iPod or iPad, making it a versatile option for a variety of different users.
