MDC KICKS IT UP A NOTCH WITH PRESENCE ON APPLE’S iTUNES U SITE
MIAMI, Oct. 15, 2007 – Education at Miami Dade College (MDC) has gotten faster, sharper and more visually stunning with the launch of the MDC iTunes U site, a new innovative tool designed to take learning beyond the classroom experience.
The MDC iTunes U site is an extension of the iTunes store, currently the second largest on-line retailer in the world. More than half of the nation’s top 500 colleges and universities use the free service from Apple to feature content, often called podcasts.
“Podcasting has become one of the most important ways to deliver information because it is so pervasive. It can help faculty with classroom management by allowing them to place important reference materials on-line, so they can concentrate on teaching concepts in class. Students benefit by having the ability to learn at their own pace,” said Mark Nestor, chief information officer at the Medical Campus.
With the new site, faculty can post presentations, lectures, performances, demonstrations, tours, and other video for their classes, which can be accessed from anywhere using a computer with the iTunes software installed. Additionally, students can search through thousands of audio and video files from other schools across the country.
Currently, the College has uploaded more than 300 items. They include President George W. Bush’s speech at MDC’s 2007 Kendall Campus graduation ceremony, Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama’s author presentation at the 2006 Miami Book Fair International, coverage of the Miami International Film Festival, and courses covering global warming, chemistry and physical therapy, among many other topics.
The College Training and Development (CT&D) center at MDC has a course for faculty to be trained in how to use podcasting. Additionally, the College is in the process of installing the free iTunes software, which is necessary to access the site, in computers throughout all eight campuses. For more information, please contact: Mark Nestor, 305-237-4452
To view the MDC site, visit the iTunes webpage at www.mdc.edu/itunes.
Media-only contacts: Sue Arrowsmith, 305-237-3710 or sue.arrowsmith@mdc.edu; Beverly Counts Rodrigues, MDC director of media relations 305-237-3949 or brodrigu@mdc.edu; Juan C. Mendieta, MDC director of communications 305-237-7611 or jmendiet@mdc.edu. Other MDC news releases are available on the web at www.mdc.edu.