New on iTunesU: Google in the Classroom

iTunes has long been the go-to source for interesting, entertaining, and informative podcasts. A recent update to iTunes included an overhaul of iTunesU, the educational division of Apple's web store. iTunesU contains content from of the world's leading universities as well as offerings from K-12 districts around the country.

I have been heavily involved in developing content for both teachers and students which have been added to the MI Learning channel of iTunesU. This month I have been working to publish one of the first online "courses" available in the K-12 space on iTunesU.

The title of the course is "Google in the Classroom" and is designed to introduce new users to the collaborative tools that Google has developed which have great application for the classroom:

The use of technology in education provides powerful opportunities to engage students in authentic learning. Google has developed a suite of tools that can easily be integrated into K-12 classrooms to encourage collaboration and creativity. This course will provide educators with a basic understanding of various Google products and suggest ways to integrate those products into the classroom. 

The course features seven units including lessons on Google Docs, Calendar, Sites, and Gmail. Instructional videos provide an overview of various aspects of each tool and suggest potential applications for the classroom. Also included in the course are links to innovative teachers who have used Google products with their students in interesting ways.

This course is entirely free an can be downloaded to your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. You will need to install the brand new iTunesU app (free) which can be accessed here. This will allow you to browse the iTunesU course library and find the "Google in the Classroom" course.

The process of creating this course was an interesting journey. I am working on several posts which outline the process of creating and posting a course via iTunesU. Please consider subscribing to the RSS feed for this blog, or following me on Twitter for future updates.