Berkeley opens lectures to the public

Going beyond the everyday use of the iPod, some schools and universities are allowing content managed by iTunes U to be viewed online by the general public, reports eSchool News.

iTunes U is a free content-management system which can be used by schools and colleges. The University of California, Berkeley is making video and audio recordings of course lectures available both on and off campus through Apple's iTunes Music Store.

"This reinforces the digital bridge to our students, alumni, and the world and allows us to explore new distribution channels," said Obadiah Greenberg, product manager for webcast.berkeley.edu, UC Berkeley's site that delivers course and event content as podcasts and streaming video. "It also allows UC Berkeley to broaden what we make available, including video podcasts and other digital material."

Users subscribe through Berkeley on iTunes U, and the coursework is delivered to the podcasting device. Subscribers using iTune U can watch and listen to just the content that interests them without having to search through all the content.

"I can pull out my iPod at any time, whether I'm in the car, or on the plane, or on the treadmill, and go over the material that I didn't quite understand, or just listen to the parts that interested me," said UC Berkeley freshman Danielle Ownbey.