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What is CDE on iTunes U?
Apple’s iTunes U is a place where you can download lectures, discussions, audiobooks, podcasts and many other forms of educational content—all for free. Universities, colleges, schools, museums, and many other educational and cultural institutions from around the world have made content available at iTunes U. Joining this growing list of institutions, the CDE has recently placed hundreds of media files on iTunes U with the primary objective of providing easily accessible high-quality professional development for teachers and education administrators.
Who can submit materials?
Anyone who has developed standards-aligned materials supporting teacher professional development may submit materials to the CDE for potential inclusion.
Please review the Content Provider Agreement and Evaluation Criteria Form (DOC; 211 KB; 6pp.) to ensure that your materials meet the technical and content requirements before submitting.
More information about the California Content Standards is available on the California State Board of Education Content Standards Web page located at Content Standards.
To learn more about the California Standards for the Teaching Profession, see the Commission on Teacher Credentialing Web page at California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP) (2009) (PDF; Outside Source).
Why would a Local Educational Agency want to share their materials with CDE on iTunes U?
Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) that have produced professional development information may want to share their content with educators in LEAs where high-quality resources are limited or non-existent. By posting their resources on CDE on iTunes U, they are not only leveraging the value of their content by extending their reach to the larger education community in the state and nation, they are also creating opportunities to be recognized as an important source of high-quality information.
What is the process for submitting?
Submissions can be uploaded to the CDE over the Internet via ExFiles, or copied onto CD-ROM or DVD media and mailed to:
Jim Long, Education Programs Consultant
The CDE on iTunes U Project
1430 N Street, Suite 3207
Sacramento, CA 95814-5901
Please see CDE on i Tunes U Contribute Web page for detailed instructions regarding the submission process.
For information on uploading submissions via ExFiles, contact Jim Long, Education Programs Consultant, by phone at 916-323-4583 or by e-mail at itunesu@cde.ca.gov.
How can I get help with the technical elements?
Complete information about supported audio and video formats can be found at i Tunes U (Outside Source).Look under the "Instructors" heading and click on "Creating Content for iPod + iTunes (PDF; Outside Source)"; you will find a straightforward ten-page description about how to create material for the portal.
Additionally, the California Technical Assistance Project (CTAP) (Outside Source) supports educational technology for kindergarten through grade twelve projects. CTAP staff have been briefed about this project and are prepared to help.
Who determines what content will be posted?
While content providers must review their information prior to submitting it in order to ensure that it meets the technical and content criteria, CDE reviewers will consider submitted materials. The CDE has established a multi-step review process, involving both content and technical experts, to ensure that the materials available in the CDE on iTunes U collection meet certain evaluation criteria. For detailed information about these criteria, please refer to the Content Provider Agreement and Evaluation Criteria Form (DOC; 211 KB; 6pp.).
Can I post my materials on iTunes U and someplace else simultaneously?
Yes. In fact, organizations that have made content available on both their own sites and iTunes U have anecdotally reported increased traffic on their primary Web sites as a result of their presence on iTunes U.
However, Apple strongly discourages posting the same asset on more than one iTunes U portal as it can be confusing for users and make collecting data about portal traffic and asset use difficult to measure accurately. Accordingly, the CDE will avoid duplication of material currently located elsewhere on iTunes. Potential submitters of content may find it worthwhile to house teacher professional development assets on CDE on iTunes U as just a sampler or exclusively.
Am I giving up the legal rights to my materials when I sign the Provider Agreement form?
No. Ownership rights, copyright, etc. are not transferred to the CDE. By signing the Content Provider Agreement and Evaluation Criteria Form (DOC; 211 KB; 6pp.), you are giving the CDE permission to post your content in the formats that are required by Apple in order to be accessible within the iTunes environment. You can revoke this permission at any time. We do not have the right to post any content for which you have not granted that permission.
iTunes is blocked by our district. How and when do you expect teachers to access CDE on iTunes U?
Apple’s iTunes U may or may not be something that your local district allows staff to access with worksite technology, and this fact of course is strictly a local policy. CDE on iTunes U may be accessed free of charge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week via desktop, laptop, or smart phone, offering a great deal of flexibility to educators who would like to access it.
How much is this costing the taxpayers of the State of California?
Apple is providing server space and technical support to the CDE at no cost. Similarly, the resources available on CDE on iTunes U are available to educators at no cost. We are very pleased to provide this rich and timely information at a time when resources for professional development are scarce.
How do Brokers of Expertise and CDE on iTunes U work together?
Both the Brokers of Expertise (BOE) (located on the CDE’s Brokers Of Expertise (Outside Source) and
CDE on iTunes U) support teacher professional development. While they are both Web-based, they offer very different experiences.
The BOE is a social network that educators can use to form customized online groups to share experiences and challenges they face in the classroom and collaborate on ways to improve instruction. Users can share instructional practices through links, videos, pictures, or documents that can make it easier for other teachers to replicate innovation in their own classrooms. The Web site also lists where each resource comes from and provides a blog where educators may share their thoughts on the resource’s effectiveness.
CDE on iTunes U provides downloadable materials and is accessible to a wide audience on a variety of technological devices. In short, different educators have different needs at different times. We believe the BOE and CDE on iTunes U work in tandem to meet a variety of different needs.
