Impact on learning of iTunes U OER - Follow the Sun 14 April 2011

The Impact on Learningof iTunes U

Open Educational ResourcesTerese Bird

Learning Technologist and SCORE FellowBeyond Distance Research Alliance, University of

Leicester

What’ll we talk about?

• A Bit of History• Is iTunes U an OER channel?• Impact• Positives and negatives• Futuregazing

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iTunes U: the coolest OER channel

Photos courtesy RJ Lammers, LHG Creative Photography, Flickr

iTunes U for University

Power Search

Not just universities

Way back in 2005…

What was the purpose?

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Is iTunes U OER?

Under the category “OER Tools and Services”

What is OER?

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What is OER?

Is iTunes U OER?

How do we measure impact?

David Wiley said:

“I think OERs are like toothbrushes”

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It’s all in the downloads

University Downloads

Open University, UK Over 32 million since June 2008

University of Oxford Over 8 million since June 2008

Coventry University 2.5 million in 2010 alone

University of Warwick 1 million Jan ‘09 – June ‘10

Open University iTunes U Site

22 March 2011

Snapshot via Twitter

• 5th – 10th March 2011• “iTunesU”• 101 tweets

– 73 English– 28 non-English

Characterising iTunes U TweetsCategory of Tweet Number

Use iTunesU material to teach others 4

Use for oneself – just interested 13

Use for oneself – learn something specific 10

Technical discussion 7

Academic discussion 15

General positive 20

General positive – OER-related 3

Negative 1

What are iTunes U users thinking?

What are iTunes U users thinking?

iTunes U Impact Survey

N = 126

iTunes U Impact Survey24.6% had already used educational

material from iTunes or iTunes U

http://tinyurl.com/surveyitunesu

University of LeicesterMicrobiology Bytes iTunes podcasts

164 episodes; each file downloaded average of 73x every month at peak(Courtesy of Dr Alan Cann, University of Leicester Department of Biology http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/microbiologybytes-enhanced/id177803088)

Other Impact• PhD student applications improve• Hits on university website increase• Multimedia OER• Mobile OER• Beyond Campus• K-12

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Positives and NegativesPositives Negatives

Excellent profile for institution Not a browser

Three standard formats iTunes in public lab computer - issues

Excellent on Apple mobile devices Not easily accessed on nonApple handheld

Download files – constant internet unnecessary

Not very good for conversation with learners

Fast download Copyright – not always right for re-use

Good search capability Apple is a corporation

Reaches places YouTube can’t (China)

Pushes OER agenda and brings uni together in discussion

Apple is a corporation

Futuregazing

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Futuregazing

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Futuregazing

If….

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Must leverage and manage

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References

• http://wiki.creativecommons.org/What_is_OER%3F

• http://opencontent.org/blog/archives/1780• http://projects.kmi.open.ac.uk/itunesu/impact/