Apple on Thursday launched a significant upgrade to iTunes U, says a report from Re/code. The update is designed to improve the tools that allow teachers to interact with students, better incorporate educational apps in their course materials, and easily manage homework assignments.
The latest version of Apple’s educational software will allow students to turn in their homework directly from their iPads, and the documents will carry a timestamp indicating when the homework, term paper, reports, or other work was turned in. A teacher can be alerted when a student’s work has been submitted and is ready for review, and will also be alerted if a reminder needs to be sent for past due work.
Teachers will also be able to import popular educational apps into their course materials, including Apple’s own software, as well as a number of third-party apps such as Stop Motion Studio. iTunes U also includes new discussion features, allowing better communication between teachers and their students.
First debuting in 2007, iTunes U has evolved from a repository in iTunes for university video lectures into the present day suite of apps and content used by students and teachers around the globe.
