These days, it’s not just music coursing through those white iPod headphones. Students can download Wednesday’s seminar and listen to it as they exercise or commute to class. This kind of “learning on the go” is just one advantage of iTunes U – Apple’s innovative platform that allows colleges and universities the space to post educational audio and video content online and distribute it free through Apple’s popular multimedia store, iTunes.

Now, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is making its debut on iTunes U. UT-Houston on iTunes U offers podcasts on select course materials, faculty lectures, seminars and consumer health information that health science center users and guests can download and listen to while sitting at their computers or on the move with iPods and MP3 players.

“A user can go to the iTunes Store, find the content that he or she wants and subscribe to it,” says Adol Esquivel, M.D., UT Houston iTunes U program coordinator. “You are subscribing to podcasts, meaning that every time somebody uploads new content, you get it automatically via iTunes. You can then watch it on your computer or download it to your iPod and take it with you wherever you go.”

As the first University of Texas institution on iTunes U, the UT Health Science Center joins the ranks of more than 40 other universities that want to use technology to enhance teaching and learning. The UT Houston iTunes U initiative is led by The University of Texas School of Health Information Sciences at Houston (SHIS) and the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS).

“I proposed that the School of Health Information Sciences be the administrator for this new technology and make it available for the whole campus,” Esquivel says. “It took two years to complete the project, which involved a signed agreement between UT and Apple. The university creates the content and Apple gives UT unlimited hosting space.”

Because the site had to be university-wide, Esquivel needed the support of the Learning and Technology Advisory Team (LTAT) to help get all six schools on board. The LTAT is concerned with the educational uses of technology for supporting and improving the academic mission of the university.

David Taylor, Ed.D., chair of the LTAT, says he couldn’t overlook the tremendous possibilities a presence on iTunes U would bring to the health science center. The university would be able to share its educational content with its own faculty, staff and students and with countless others with access to iTunes.

“We now have an instant channel of communication directly with millions of iPod users, and anyone else using iTunes,” says Taylor, who also is director of Educational & Technology Services at the UT Dental Branch. “The public relations value is tremendous.”

 iTunesU gives institutions like the UT Health Science Center at Houston, Duke University, Stanford University and others an opportunity to enhance their public education and community outreach efforts. Anyone with access to the iTunes Store can download health science center content, watch, listen and learn.

“People are used to going to the iTunes store to buy music and download songs,” Esquivel said.  “Now, people can go to iTunes U and download audio and video on diabetes, heart disease, obesity or other topics free of charge. This is one great example of how technology can be used to distribute content, help educate and promote the health care field.”

With iTunes U, health care consumers can download podcasts of research updates, articles from UT Houston’s online consumer wellness magazine – HealthLeader --and information from the university’s six schools. Many of the podcasts on UT Houston iTunes U are available both in Spanish and English.

“Having access to iTunes U is an excellent opportunity for the health science center because it allows us to provide content and expertise to the larger community,” says Cynthia Phelps, Ph.D., assistant professor of health informatics at SHIS. “iTunes U provides our university with a window to the public that is easily accessible and allows people to drill down to the information they need.”

To view all available content, check out UT Houston iTunes U at http://www.uth.tmc.edu/itunesu/

— Camille Webb, for Institutional Advancement, with contributions from Rob Cahill, Institutional Advancement

Date Posted: 06/24/2008