Open University hits one million iTunes U downloads

Milestone for distance learning

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15 October 2008 14:25 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

The Open University has announced that it has hit, and passed, the one million downloads marker for its content available on iTunes U.

The OU says: "A staggering one million items equating to seventeen terabytes of educational content from the Open University has been downloaded in the four months since it joined Apple’s iTunes U channel".

There are more than 300 items of educational content including videos and sound recordings on topics ranging from Darwinian Theory to foundation Spanish on iTunes U.

Professor Brenda Gourley, vice-chancellor of the Open University, said the Apple team-up was an example of the University looking for new and innovative ways to provide students with curriculum.

“iTunes U makes high quality educational content available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to anyone with access to an internet connection, free of charge”, Gourley said.

“The Open University is widely known to be a world leader in the distance education learning, and this partnership with Apple is another example of how we are maintaining our position by utilising current and emerging technologies for our students’ benefits.”