Emory Free Culture

iTunes U for Emory?
The University should bite on Apple’s new filesharing system
Andrew Swerlick
Posted: 4/28/06 at http://www.emorywheel.com/media/storage/paper919/news/2006/04/28/Editorials/Itunes.U.For.Emory-1882052.shtml
If Microsoft is the devil, does that make Apple an angel? Technology pundits often seem to think so.

Every new product or service from the mind of Steve Jobs and his crew is heralded as breakthrough technology that will lead us into the future.

Macintosh fans are known for their fanatical, nearly rabid defense of the company from any sort of criticism. Which isn’t surprising, considering Apple’s slick products and masterful hype. But is the hype always worth buying into?

This is the question that should weigh heavily on the Emory community as the University considers the adoption of the new iTunes U service. As the Apple Web site explains, “iTunes U is a free, hosted service for colleges and universities that provides easy access to your educational content, including lectures and interviews 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

iTunes U allows colleges to upload academic content onto an Apple server where students can then access and download it. The program is in the early stages, but has already found a spot at big-name schools like Stanford and the University of Michigan Dental School.

The quick adoption has been driven by Apple’s traditionally excellent marketing and the fact that Apple has promised to offer this service free of charge until at least 2007. Apple has also stated that it doesn’t plan to introduce any charges even after that date.

Some critics of the iTunes U program are worried that the service is simply too good to be true. Their fears are not surprising. After all, Apple is a for-profit company, so it’s worth questioning just what they might be trying to gain from offering this filesharing service for free.

But for the most part, this Apple gift horse seems to pass the test. Participation in the service doesn’t require signing away the copyrights to any content universities place on Apple’s servers; any sort of media can be uploaded as long as appropriate copyright clearances are obtained; and there are no explicit lock-in provisions that force exclusive use of Apple products.

Even the valid issues that many bloggers have raised - mostly concerning the accessibility of the content to those who don’t use Apple products or services - can be avoided through an intelligent deployment of the system. And fortunately, that seems just what Emory’s Academic and Administrative Information Technology division is poised to do.

In a recent discussion with members of Emory Free Culture, Alan Cattier, director of Academic Technology Services, made it clear that the goal in adopting iTunes U will be to create a comprehensive academic filesharing network that is as open as possible. To this end, iTunes U will only be a part of a plan that will also encompass already existing systems such as LearnLink, Blackboard and Reserves Direct.

In fact, with these systems already in place, it might be worth asking just what is it that iTunes U will be bringing to the table. After all, Emory students can already share their academic and creative work with others using Webdrive. Professors can already place audio files on Blackboard. Students can already upload and download assignments using LearnLink. Will iTunes U do anything more than duplicate present functionality under a Macintosh logo?

No. But that’s not a bad thing. The importance of a slick design and user-friendly interface is often overestimated by techies, but never by Apple.

Although Apple has often been called an innovator, that compliment is slightly misleading. Apple has rarely been the first company to develop a brand-new product or service. After all, the iPod was a latecomer in the world of MP3 players. Even the ever-popular iTunes Music Store came after the Real Networks Rhapsody download service. But Apple always finds a way to take innovative ideas and make them appealing and easy to use for the masses. And in many ways, that’s what’s most important. Even the most innovative inventions are worthless if no one will use them.

For years, filesharing proponents have been arguing that technology has the potential to change the face of education as we know it. Maybe now that it’s bundled it in a slick Apple package it truly will.