ITunes U Site Development

Initial Research

MIIS iTunes U Presence

http://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/miis.edu

Site Design

• University of Michigan has a great 3-column layout
• Can include dynamic elements such as "Top Downloads"
• Need to have a public presence on iTunes in order to be granted the Public Feature Page template used by Michigan, Stanford, Duke, etc.

Application Process

• Far less likely to get a site as a department of an institution.
• For example, if you say, "We're the Theatre Department of Generic U and we'd like a site if we can get it," you are far less likely to get a site than if you say, "We're Generic U and we'd like a site if we can get it.

Timeline

• Submitted for approval on Tuesday 11/19/2008
• Approved 12/15/2008
• Appeared in iTunes U Store on 12/23/2008

Additional Work to be Done

Contact Apple

• When you ask Apple to create a public site for your school, you get access to the three-column page design (this is called a "public features page" in the iTunes U admin guide). This design is, I suspect, intended to be a visual cue that lets an iTunes U client know that he/she is visiting your school's public arena (as opposed to the place where class materials are kept).
• To get the three-column format, ask Apple to create a public site with the public features page for you. Bear in mind, though, the the intended use is different than for your private site.

Establish Style Guide

• Establish guidelines for the following items:
  • Track name
  • Artwork
  • Artist
  • Album
  • Year
  • Genre
  • Comments
  • Summary
  • Category
• NO ACRONYMS

Create Launch/Support Page

• Needs to be created
• Several good examples:
  • http://video.tncc.edu/itunesu/index.php
  • http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0806/08060301
  • https://wikis.otis.edu/tech/index.php/Otis_on_iTunesU

Compile FAQs

• Do I have to pay to access MIIS on iTunes U?

• What if I have Windows? Can I still install iTunes?

• How do I access MIIS on iTunes U?

• Is MIIS's content part of the iTunes Music Store?

• Can I access MIIS on iTunes U directly without first opening a browser?

• A podcast has images, but they do not appear when I play it. How can I see them?

• I can see other people's playlist in my iTunes. Did someone hack into my computer?

• What do I need to use iTunes U?

• Do I need an iPod to use iTunes U?

• Where can I download iTunes?

• How do I login to iTunes U?

• Is the MIIS on iTunes content under copyright protection?

• What is a podcast?

• How can I create my own podcast?

• Where in iTunes is the content I downloaded from MIIS on iTunes U?

• Can I use other mp3 players with iTunes?

• What else can I do using the iTunes software?

• I want to distribute a URL to something specific in iTunesU. Can I link directly to this content?