Apple updates iTunes U

Mashable reports.

Now, educators have the ability to distribute courses privately and invite students to take them. Any teacher can sign up to offer courses via iTunes U.

Unveiled in 2007, iTunes U allows member educational institutions to manage and share content for students.

Shortly after the new iPad was unveiled in March, the iTunes U app was touted as being able to bring online classes to mobile. Through the app, teachers can upload a course syllabus; arrange audio, video and iBooks onto iTunes U. Also introduced last week are “powerful new note-taking features for audio and video that let students easily search their notes.”

According to Tech Radar, other small changes include giving students the ability to take time stamped notes on screen while watching a video.

Apple's iTunes U catalogue now features 500 000 audio and video files from 1 000 universities and has seen 700 million total downloads.

The app itself, which was rolled out six months ago, has been downloaded 14 million times.

And, as Tim Cook promised, Apple has gone more social, giving students the ability to share their favourite courses with family and friends using Twitter, Mail, or Messages, CNET writes.

iTunes U is available for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch on the iTunes App Store as a free download. Courses provided on the app are also free.