Monday, February 13, 2012

How to Create an iTunes U Site for your Blackboard Course

You can create a "private" iTunes U page for your Blackboard course.  You can use the site to upload media files for your course.  Your students can subscribe to your course's iTunes U site using the Apple iTunes client on their computer (Mac or PC), or their iOS devices (iPad, iPod, iPhone).  Once a student has subscribed to your iTunes U site, any content you subsequently add will be automatically downloaded for that student.

Adding an iTunes U site to your Blackboard course is a 3-step process.  Here are videos demonstrating how to perform each step in your course.

1.  Enable iTunes U for your Course.

Video has audio, please enable sound. Please click here for video instructions.

2.  Post a link in your Blackboard course that students can use to access the iTunes U site

Video has audio, please enable sound.  Please click here for video instructions.


3.  Upload and manage content (media files) in your iTunes U site

Video has audio, please enable sound.  Please click here for video instructions.

When uploading files to iTunes U, you may select one file at a time.  You may repeat the select as many times as necessary to queue the remaining files for upload.  Here is a video demonstrating how to upload multiple files.

To remove content that you have added to your private iTunes U site, use the "Delete" option from the "Choose Action" drop-down.  Here is a video showing how to delete content.


More information:

For information regarding recommended file formats for iTunes U, audience/access questions, questions regarding Copyright, and other questions, please see our Blackboard iTunes U site FAQ here.




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Wednesday, February 01, 2012

iTunes U Content in Blackboard - FAQ

Here are some frequently asked questions about iTunes U content in Blackboard.

How do I publish content to iTunes U?

To publish content to your students in your Blackboard course, please see this article.  Content published to iTunes U via Blackboard is not public; it is only available to the students enrolled in your course*.  This is known as a "private" iTunes U page.

To publish content on Northeastern University's public iTunes U site, see this page.


Who has access to the content published in iTunes U?

The content published to your course-based "private" iTunes U site is available only to the students enrolled in your in your course in Blackboard.  Students access the material by using the link that you post in your Blackboard course.  See this article for instructions.


Can I post copyrighted material in my private iTunes U site?

Material posted to the a private iTunes U site is subject to the provisions of copyright law and the TEACH act.  Please see policies pertaining to patent and copyright in the Northeastern University Faculty handbook.  Apple's copyright overview is here.


Can I restrict access to material posted on iTunes U?

*Only students enrolled in your course have access to the link to your private iTunes U site in Blackboard.  It is technically possible for a student to distribute this link intentionally to another person outside of your Blackboard site.  Also, the iTunes U service is a subscription download service (not a streaming video service) - media files posted to iTunes U are automatically downloaded to the computers of the students using the service.  For these reasons, if you have material that is particularly sensitive to redistribution, you may want to post it via another method, such as an online streaming video service that has a 'no-download' option (e.g. services such as Youtube or Vimeo).


What are the file formats supported in iTunes?

Here is a link to Apple's recommended file format information for iTunes U.

If you need to convert from another video format to an iTunes U-supported video format, we recommend using the Handbrake converter, available for free download here: http://handbrake.fr/


Whom can I contact if I have another question?

Please contact the NU Service Desk at 617.373.4357 or help@neu.edu.  Questions regarding the public iTunes U site may be directed to itunes@neu.edu.