The iTunes Store is Apple's online digital media store from where music and films can be downloaded. iTunes U is an area within the Store where an educational institution can manage a site showcasing its collection of audio and visual material. Unlike the music and films, this material can be downloaded free of charge. You need the iTunes software to listen/watch any recording provided in the iTunes Store. This is available on Windows/Macs but not on Linux. If you are providing material in iTunes U, it is important to provide an alternative way of accessing this material for those people that do not have iTunes. Until 2008, the iTunes U institutions were all in the USA: then in June 2008, iTunes U was expanded to include institutions in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the UK, the institutions were the Open University and UCL. Later, in October 2008, both Cambridge and Oxford Universities joined in. More recently, Warwick and Coventry Universities have set up sites, and some other UK Universities are currently preparing for iTunes U. This document looks at why your institution should have an iTunes U site, what you need to do to be successful in iTunes U and how you can provide an alternative for those without iTunes. The material of this document was used in a workshop at the 2009 Institutional Webmasters Workshop held at the University of Essex during July 2009. The document is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales licence.

1. Time for
iTunes U
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Time for iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes Barry Cornelius
RSS
UK iTunes U
barry.cornelius@oucs.ox.ac.uk
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff 30 July 2009
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

2. Introductions
Time for
iTunes U 1 Introductions: me
Barry
Cornelius 2 Introductions: the talk
Introductions
3 Introductions: agenda
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
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Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
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successful
Other projects
And finally

3. Introductions: me
Time for
iTunes U I’m Barry Cornelius.
Barry
Cornelius
I work for
Oxford University Computing Services (OUCS).
Introductions
I’ve been at Oxford for just over four years, and was
iTunes U
previously at Durham University.
Oxford’s site
Not using
These are my own opinions and not necessarily those
iTunes of my employer.
RSS
As well as being on the IWMW 2009 site, these slides
UK iTunes U
are also available from
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http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/
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presentations
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Checking
This document is licensed under the Creative
Being
Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0
successful
UK: England & Wales licence. More details are at
Other projects
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
And finally
by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

4. Introductions: the University of Essex
Time for
iTunes U It’s great to be back at Essex University.
Barry
Cornelius I was an M.Sc. student studying Computer Science
Introductions
during 1971-1972.
iTunes U I really enjoyed myself here.
Oxford’s site
But things were so different then ...
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
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5. Introductions: the University in 1971-1972
Time for
iTunes U A few from the South looking at Square 1 which has no
Barry
Cornelius
buildings around the side of it.
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
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iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
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6. Introductions: the University in 1971-1972
Time for
iTunes U Square 1 (which is on the left) was fenced off and out of
Barry
Cornelius
bounds.
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
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iTunes
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UK iTunes U
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7. Introductions: the University in 1971-1972
Time for
iTunes U This is me building the Wivenhoe Trail. Well, not really.
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
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8. Introductions: the University in 1971-1972
Time for
iTunes U Me in the corridor of Flat 12, Eddington Tower.
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
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iTunes
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UK iTunes U
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9. Introductions: the University in 1971-1972
Time for
iTunes U My room (Room 14 of Flat 12, Eddington Tower).
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
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iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
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Checking
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And finally

10. Introductions: the University in 1971-1972
Time for
iTunes U A crowd watching an event of the 1992 Arts Festival
Barry
Cornelius
between Squares 2 and 3.
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
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iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
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And finally

11. Introductions: the University in 1971-1972
Time for
iTunes U The performers.
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
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iTunes
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UK iTunes U
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12. Introductions: the University in 1971-1972
Time for
iTunes U In the communal area of Flat 12 of Eddington Tower,
Barry
Cornelius
I constructed a timetable for the Arts Festival. It was derived
from the Festival Booklet, NME, Melody Maker, ... .
Introductions
Is this a mashup?
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
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And finally

13. Introductions: the talk
Time for
iTunes U Oxford’s site in iTunes U was released in October 2008.
Barry
Cornelius
In this workshop, I want to talk about:
iTunes U;
Introductions how we produced our site;
iTunes U the need to provide an alternative to using iTunes;
Oxford’s site some of the things we did to make this a success.
Not using At Oxford, the team involved with the launch of
iTunes
iTunes U consisted of:
RSS
Peter Robinson (OUCS, managing the project),
UK iTunes U
Barry Cornelius (OUCS, doing all the techie bits),
Breakout
Stuart Lee (Director, OUCS),
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Carolyne Culver (Head of Strategic Communications),
Legal stuff
Christopher Eddie (Web Officer).
Checking
We also got a lot of help from Oliver Lewis.
Being
successful Since that time, a Podcasting Team has been created
Other projects to develop and maintain the site.
And finally It includes Steve Pierce and Carl Marshall.

14. Introductions: agenda
Time for
iTunes U Introductions
Barry
Cornelius iTunes U
Introductions Oxford’s site
iTunes U Not using iTunes
Oxford’s site
RSS
Not using
iTunes UK iTunes U
RSS
Breakout
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Workflow Legal stuff
Legal stuff
Checking
Checking
Being
Being successful
successful
Other projects
Other projects
And finally
And finally

15. iTunes U
Time for
iTunes U 1 iTunes U: Apple’s iTunes name soup
Barry
Cornelius 2 iTunes U: it’s top page
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

16. iTunes U: Apple’s iTunes name soup
Time for
iTunes U iTunes is an application for organizing and playing
Barry
Cornelius
digital music, video files and podcasts.
Introductions
It came out in 2001; it’s produced by Apple; it’s free;
iTunes U
and it is available for Windows and Macs.
Oxford’s site The iTunes Store is Apple’s online digital media store
Not using
iTunes
where music, films and podcasts can be downloaded to
RSS
your computer using the iTunes software.
UK iTunes U Although there is normally a charge for downloading
Breakout music and films, the podcasts are free of charge.
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The iTunes Store was created with just music in 2003;
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videos and podcasts were added in 2005.
Checking
Being
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Other projects
And finally

17. iTunes U: Apple’s iTunes name soup
Time for
iTunes U iTunes U is an area within the iTunes Store where an
Barry
Cornelius
educational institution can provide its own collection of
audio and visual material (such as lectures, talks and
Introductions
interviews).
iTunes U
Oxford’s site All the recordings can be downloaded free of charge.
Not using
iTunes
Here are details about some of the releases of
RSS
iTunes U:
UK iTunes U
Breakout
date institution
Workflow May 2007 just institutions in the USA
Legal stuff June 2008 Open University, UCL, TCD, au, nz and ca
October 2008 Cambridge and Oxford
Checking
January 2009 Warwick
Being April 2009 TATE
successful
June 2009 Coventry
Other projects
And finally

18. iTunes U: it’s top page
Time for
iTunes U This is what the iTunes U part of the Store looks like:
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
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successful
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And finally

19. iTunes U: it’s top page
Time for
iTunes U There are three bricks along the top that provide
Barry
Cornelius
quick access to those three sites within iTunes U.
Introductions
There are categories (on the left) that provide
iTunes U
quick access to topic areas.
Oxford’s site There is a top downloads box (on the right) that
Not using
iTunes
provides quick access to popular recordings.
RSS Lower down on the left, there is a link labelled
UK iTunes U Universities & Colleges that enables you to get to a list
Breakout of institutions and then access a particular institution’s
Workflow site within iTunes U.
Legal stuff
Checking
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And finally

20. Oxford’s site
Time for
iTunes U 1 Oxford’s site: a launch page
Barry
Cornelius 2 Oxford’s site: the top page
Introductions
3 Oxford’s site: the category pages
iTunes U 4 Oxford’s site: the course pages
Oxford’s site
5 Oxford’s site: what’s available?
Not using
iTunes 6 Oxford’s site: tracking accesses to web pages
RSS
UK iTunes U
7 Oxford’s site: administering the site
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

21. Oxford’s site: a launch page
Time for
iTunes U The URL for a site in iTunes U is long and
Barry
Cornelius
unmemorable.
Introductions
So an institution normally provides a launch page.
iTunes U Oxford’s launch page is at
Oxford’s site http://itunes.ox.ac.uk
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
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And finally

22. Oxford’s site: a launch page
Time for
iTunes U This is what http://itunes.ox.ac.uk looks like:
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

23. Oxford’s site: a launch page
Time for
iTunes U There is both a link to Oxford’s site within iTunes U:
Barry
Cornelius
http://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/
Core.woa/Browse/ox-ac-uk-public
Introductions
iTunes U
There is also a link to another site, that can be used by
Oxford’s site those unable/unwilling to use iTunes:
Not using http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk
iTunes
I will discuss that site later.
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

24. Oxford’s site: the top page
Time for
iTunes U This is what our site in iTunes U looks like:
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

25. Oxford’s site: the top page
Time for
iTunes U That’s the top page, as seen by the public.
Barry
Cornelius You can also visit a site as an administrator, in which
Introductions
case you see a version of this page augmented with
iTunes U
buttons that allow you to edit the page.
Oxford’s site There are two kinds of top pages:
Not using
iTunes
on smaller sites a Welcome Page is used;
RSS
whereas we are using a Public Features Page.
UK iTunes U Whichever you choose, there is not much an
Breakout administrator can alter.
Workflow
A site will normally have two or three levels:
Legal stuff
we have three.
Checking
Being Below the top page, there are category pages and
successful
below these there are course pages.
Other projects
And finally

26. Oxford’s site: the top page
Time for
iTunes U A Public Features page has a CATEGORIES box in the
Barry
Cornelius
top left.
Introductions
This enables you to subdivide the lower pages into
iTunes U
distinct areas.
Oxford’s site In our case, we have nine areas. We will look at these
Not using
iTunes
in a moment.
RSS You can provide a SEARCH box.
UK iTunes U
You can provide a number of link boxes.
Breakout
Workflow
In the middle, you normally show icons
Legal stuff
that provide quick links to individual recordings
Checking and individual courses.
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

27. Oxford’s site: the category pages
Time for
iTunes U Here is one of Oxford’s category pages:
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

28. Oxford’s site: the category pages
Time for
iTunes U The second level contains one page for each category.
Barry
Cornelius It is up to you what a category represents.
Introductions Our categories are the divisions of the University
iTunes U together with a few others
Oxford’s site (Colleges, the Campaign and University Life).
Not using
iTunes Again, the layout is not very flexible: there’s a title,
RSS an image, a description, one or more links boxes and
UK iTunes U one or more big boxes containing icons for each course
Breakout in that category.
Workflow
So the icons link to courses
Legal stuff
(which are at the bottom level).
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

29. Oxford’s site: the course pages
Time for
iTunes U Here is one of Oxford’s course pages:
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

30. Oxford’s site: the course pages
Time for
iTunes U The third level contains one page for each course.
Barry
Cornelius Again, it is up to you what a course represents.
Introductions Once again, the layout is not very flexible: there’s
iTunes U a title, an image, a description, a tell-a-friend box,
Oxford’s site and one or more links boxes.
Not using
iTunes We normally use the tabs to distinguish between Audio
RSS and Video recordings, but you might use them to divide
UK iTunes U the material into years: 2009, 2008, 2007, ... .
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Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
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And finally

31. Oxford’s site: the course pages
Time for
iTunes U When an administrator configures a tab, they tell it:
Barry
Cornelius
the name of the tab, e.g., Audio, Video, 2009, ... ;
the URL of the RSS feed;
Introductions when you want iTunes U to re-read the RSS feed,
iTunes U which is either never or daily ;
Oxford’s site an e-mail address for reporting problems with the feed.
Not using
iTunes There is then the listing of the tracks for the currently
RSS selected tab.
UK iTunes U
The listing is populated from the RSS feed
Breakout
when you create the course
Workflow
and re-read daily (assuming you have that configured).
Legal stuff
Checking
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successful
Other projects
And finally

32. Oxford’s site: the course pages
Time for
iTunes U A track can be played within iTunes by double-clicking
Barry
Cornelius
the track.
Introductions
A track can be downloaded by using the GET or
iTunes U
GET MOVIE button.
Oxford’s site You can obtain all the tracks by using the
Not using
iTunes
GET TRACKS button.
RSS You can subscribe to the RSS feed by using the
UK iTunes U SUBSCRIBE button.
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Workflow
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And finally

33. Oxford’s site: what’s available?
Time for
iTunes U Oxford’s site includes:
Barry
Cornelius
lectures by and interviews with world-leading
researchers and thinkers,
Introductions the presentations given at conferences held at the
iTunes U University,
Oxford’s site presentations by lecturers of the University,
Not using recordings promoting our major fundraising Campaign,
iTunes
podcasts about the application process, including
RSS
selecting a course of study, choosing a college, and
UK iTunes U
attending interviews.
Breakout
Workflow
We will now look at some of the material.
Legal stuff
Checking
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successful
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And finally

34. Oxford’s site: what’s available?
Time for
iTunes U Simon Benjamin in the Materials department has
Barry
Cornelius
produced a series of video recordings on
nanotechnology.
Introductions
iTunes U
The first video is available in iTunes U at
Oxford’s site http:
Not using //deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/
iTunes
Browse/ox-ac-uk-public.1700982954
RSS
UK iTunes U The recording itself is at
Breakout http://media.podcasts.ox.ac.uk/mat/
Workflow nanotechnology/quantum1-medium-video.
Legal stuff mp4?CAMEFROM=iwmw2009
Checking
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Other projects
And finally

35. Oxford’s site: what’s available?
Time for
iTunes U When we first started we thought it important to have
Barry
Cornelius
lots of videos as they are more exciting than audio
recordings.
Introductions
iTunes U
However, they are a lot more difficult/time-consuming to
Oxford’s site produce and require the end-user to have an
Not using appropriate device.
iTunes
RSS
When we started to develop our site, we were advised
UK iTunes U that 70% of the recordings in iTunes U were audio
Breakout recordings.
Workflow At launch 67% of our material was audio; it is now 78%.
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And finally

36. Oxford’s site: what’s available?
Time for
iTunes U Stuart Lee (head of my department) has produced
Barry
Cornelius
several audio recordings on Medieval English.
Introductions
There are ten recordings in this series and they often
iTunes U
appear in the worldwide top 100 downloads from
Oxford’s site iTunes U.
Not using
iTunes
They can be seen at
RSS
http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/?feed=
UK iTunes U engfac-podcasts-medieval-feed#
Breakout engfac-podcasts-medieval-feed
Workflow They are available in iTunes U at
Legal stuff
http:
Checking
//deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/
Being
successful Browse/ox-ac-uk-public.1626719763
Other projects
And finally

37. Oxford’s site: what’s available?
Time for
iTunes U You may want to combine slides and audio.
Barry
Cornelius
Here we will look at the work of Andreas Busch.
Until recently, he was a lecturer in the Department of
Introductions
Politics. He is now a professor in Comparative Political
iTunes U
Economy at the University of Göttingen.
Oxford’s site
Not using
And, for many years, Andreas has been keen to provide
iTunes his lectures as podcasts.
RSS
He gave a presentation about using podcasts to
UK iTunes U
support lectures at the Opencast Podcasting
Breakout
Conference held at the University in July 2008:
Workflow
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/events/
Legal stuff
Checking
podcastconference2008/
Being
His presentation is also available in iTunes U at
successful
http:
Other projects
//deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/
And finally
Browse/ox-ac-uk-public.1700975834

38. Oxford’s site: what’s available?
Time for
iTunes U The Ruskin Art School is the Fine Art Department of
Barry
Cornelius
the University.
Introductions
We have a newsfeed where final year students talk
iTunes U
about their projects:
Oxford’s site http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/?feed=
Not using rusksch-pack2008-video-feed#
iTunes
rusksch-pack2008-video-feed
RSS
UK iTunes U Konstanty Czartoryski is one of the students.
Breakout His recording is available in iTunes U at
Workflow http:
Legal stuff
//deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/
Checking
Browse/ox-ac-uk-public.1678981404
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

39. Oxford’s site: tracking accesses to web pages
Time for
iTunes U On each page in iTunes U, the LINKS box contains
Barry
Cornelius
links to web pages relevant to that page in iTunes U.
Introductions
We arrange for each link to have a parameter, e.g.:
iTunes U
http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/
Oxford’s site ?oxitunesu=1626719862
Not using
iTunes
1626719862 is the handle of that page within iTunes U.
RSS So the unit providing the web page can see in their log
UK iTunes U files how many accesses came from iTunes U.
Breakout
If you have installed iTunes, you can go straight to the
Workflow
iTunes U page (that the user visited to get to your web
Legal stuff
page) by using the URL
Checking
Being
http://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa
successful /Browse/ox-ac-uk-public.1626719862
Other projects
And finally

40. Oxford’s site: administering the site
Time for
iTunes U Apple provide support pages for iTunes U at
Barry
Cornelius
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes_u/
Introductions
These pages include a lot of useful information.
iTunes U They includes a link to a comprehensive guide for
Oxford’s site administering your site.
Not using
iTunes There are two ways in which you can log in to
RSS administer your site.
UK iTunes U
1. If Apple have set you up as an Administrator,
Breakout
you just have to log in to your site using
Workflow
your Apple ID and password.
Legal stuff
Checking
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And finally

41. Oxford’s site: administering the site
Time for
iTunes U 2. You can also configure your site to permit access
Barry
Cornelius
through a script (called a transfer script).
This script runs on one of your institution’s web servers.
Introductions
iTunes U
The idea is that you need to log in with your local
Oxford’s site
username and password to run the script, and the
Not using
script then decides whether you are an administrator.
iTunes
The script then redirects to iTunes U passing to Apple
RSS
details about the person that has logged in,
UK iTunes U
Breakout
e.g., whether they are an administrator.
Workflow Apple provide examples in Java, Perl and Python.
Legal stuff Oxford uses a script written in PHP.
Checking It is based on code written by Aaron Axelsen
Being
successful
(University of Wisconsin - Whitewater).
Other projects More details are at
And finally http://omega1.uww.edu/itunesu/

42. Oxford’s site: administering the site
Time for
iTunes U Once you are in, you can alter the elements that appear
Barry
Cornelius
on the various pages.
Introductions
I’ve already given some idea of what you can change.
iTunes U However, the real content is in the RSS feeds.
Oxford’s site
These are generated by your institution.
Not using
iTunes You configure your site in iTunes U with the URLs of
RSS these RSS feeds, and iTunes U goes and populates
UK iTunes U
your site with the contents of these feeds when it
Breakout
re-reads the RSS feeds (which is usually once per day).
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

43. Not using iTunes
Time for
iTunes U 1 Not using iTunes: need for an alternative
Barry
Cornelius 2 Not using iTunes: podcasts.ox.ac.uk
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

44. Not using iTunes: need for an alternative
Time for
iTunes U Here’s Oxford’s launch page once again:
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

45. Not using iTunes: need for an alternative
Time for
iTunes U iTunes is only available for Windows and Macs.
Barry
Cornelius We think it’s important to provide an alternative to
Introductions
iTunes U for those unable/unwilling to use iTunes.
iTunes U We provide a web site containing a list of the
Oxford’s site University’s podcasts at
Not using
iTunes
http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk
RSS All you need to use this web site is a browser and
UK iTunes U software to play mp3 and mp4 files.
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

46. Not using iTunes: podcasts.ox.ac.uk
Time for
iTunes U Here’s an extract from podcasts.ox.ac.uk:
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

47. Not using iTunes: podcasts.ox.ac.uk
Time for
iTunes U Here’s what happens if you click on show media items:
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

48. RSS
Time for
iTunes U 1 RSS: the RSS for a newsfeed
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Cornelius 2 RSS: using that data in iTunes U
Introductions
3 RSS: using that data in podcasts.ox.ac.uk
iTunes U 4 RSS: tracking accesses to media files
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

49. RSS: providing a RSS feed for each tab
Time for
iTunes U As has already been explained, your institution needs
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to provide an RSS feed for each tab of each course.
Introductions
As we sometimes provide both an audio and a video
iTunes U
tab that requires two RSS feeds.
Oxford’s site For example:
Not using
iTunes
http://rss.oucs.ox.ac.uk/engsci/
RSS
engineering_centenary-audio/rss20.xml
UK iTunes U and:
Breakout http://rss.oucs.ox.ac.uk/engsci/
Workflow engineering_centenary-video/rss20.xml
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The next slide contains an extract of the RSS feed used
Checking
for the Video tab.
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And finally

50. RSS: the RSS for a newsfeed
Time for
iTunes U <rss version="2.0">
Barry <channel>
Cornelius <title>Department of Engineering Science
Centenary Lectures</title>
Introductions <itunes:image
iTunes U href="http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/centenary
Oxford’s site
/centenaryalbumcover300x300.png"/>
<item>
Not using
iTunes
<itunes:author>Professor
Roland Clift, CBE</itunes:author>
RSS <itunesu:category itunesu:code="101104"/>
UK iTunes U <itunes:duration>3684</itunes:duration>
Breakout
<enclosure
url="http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/
Workflow
centenary/clift.mp4?CAMEFROM=itunesu"
Legal stuff length="272855729" type="video/mp4"/>
Checking <title>Lecture 15: Engineering
for Sustainable Development</title>
Being
successful </item>
</channel>
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</rss>
And finally

51. RSS: using that data in iTunes U
Time for
iTunes U We can see that data being used if we re-visit the
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appropriate page in iTunes U:
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

52. RSS: using that data in podcasts.ox.ac.uk
Time for
iTunes U We can also see that data being used if we re-visit
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http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk:
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

53. RSS: tracking accesses to media files
Time for
iTunes U The RSS we provide to iTunes U contains:
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Cornelius
<enclosure
url="http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/centen
Introductions
length="272855729" type="video/mp4"/>
iTunes U
Oxford’s site So, clicking GET in iTunes U accesses:
Not using http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/
iTunes
centenary/clift.mp4?CAMEFROM=itunesu
RSS
UK iTunes U The link we provide in podcasts.ox.ac.uk when
Breakout someone hits the GET button uses the URL:
Workflow http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/
Legal stuff centenary/clift.mp4?CAMEFROM=podcastsGET
Checking
The unit providing the media file can see in their log
Being
successful files the accesses from these different sources.
Other projects
And finally

54. UK iTunes U
Time for
iTunes U 1 UK iTunes U
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Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

55. UK iTunes U
Time for
iTunes U Currently, the following UK universities are in iTunes U:
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date institution URL of launch page
Introductions
June 2008 Open Univ. http://itunes.open.ac.uk
June 2008 UCL http://itunes.ucl.ac.uk
iTunes U October 2008 Cambridge http://www.cam.ac.uk/itunesu
Oxford’s site October 2008 Oxford http://itunes.ox.ac.uk
Not using January 2009 Warwick http://itunes.warwick.ac.uk
iTunes June 2009 Coventry http://www.coventry.ac.uk/
RSS
itunesu
UK iTunes U
Breakout I understand that a few more UK universities will be
Workflow launching soon.
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And finally

56. Breakout
Time for
iTunes U 1 Breakout: suggested areas for discussion
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Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
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successful
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And finally

57. Breakout: suggested areas for discussion
Time for
iTunes U CURRENTLY IN YOUR INSTITUTION:
Barry 1. Recordings Do you have people making audio and
Cornelius
video recordings already? Is it just a specific unit that
Introductions does this, or is it being done across the campus? Do
iTunes U you need an audit?
Oxford’s site 2. Copyright In your institution, who has the copyright of
Not using a recording of a lecture?
iTunes
PROVIDING AN iTunes U SITE:
RSS 3. Purpose What role would iTunes U play in your
UK iTunes U institution? What benefits would it bring?
Breakout 4. Central/Deployed Would you allow individuals to
Workflow provide recordings and get speakers to sign a
Legal stuff permissions form? If so, would you vet each recording?
Checking 5. Support What resources do you need for iTunes U?
Being 6. Licensing What licence would you provide for the
successful
end-user of the recordings in your iTunes U site?
Other projects
7. Branding What branding would you adopt for?
And finally
(a) album covers; (b) top and tails to recordings.

58. Workflow
Time for
iTunes U 1 Workflow: there are four steps
Barry
Cornelius 2 Workflow: 1. Create the recording
Introductions
3 Workflow: 2. Put the recording online
iTunes U 4 Workflow: 3. Add it to a newsfeed
Oxford’s site
5 Workflow: 4. Check the item can be seen
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
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successful
Other projects
And finally

59. Workflow: there are four steps
Time for
iTunes U This is the workflow we use for providing an item:
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Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
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successful
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And finally

60. Workflow: there are four steps
Time for
iTunes U So the workflow has four steps:
Barry
Cornelius Create the recording
Introductions Put the recording online
iTunes U
Add an entry into an OXITEMS podcasting newsfeed
Oxford’s site
Not using Check the item can be seen in the various delivery
iTunes
channels
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
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And finally

61. Workflow: 1. Create the recording
Time for
iTunes U Any traditional MP3 audio file or MPEG4 video file can
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be used as a podcast.
Introductions
Simply record your lecture, keynote speech or other
iTunes U
content in a digital format and save it to a computer.
Oxford’s site A portable recorder, such as a Marantz PMD 660 Solid
Not using
iTunes
State MP3 Recorder, can be a relatively inexpensive
RSS
and yet high quality option for audio recording.
UK iTunes U The speaker needs to sign a contribution form.
Breakout Material can’t go into our iTunes U site without this.
Workflow
You will probably need to use some software like
Legal stuff
Audacity to edit the recording (e.g., to remove
Checking
Being
unwanted material from the start and end of the
successful recording).
Other projects
And finally

62. Workflow: 2. Put the recording online
Time for
iTunes U The media file must be uploaded to some web server
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Cornelius
so that it is publicly accessible.
Introductions
At Oxford, IT and IT support is devolved and so often
iTunes U
this is a web server in a department or college.
Oxford’s site As some of the files are large (e.g., the video files),
Not using
iTunes
OUCS provide a server where we are willing to provide
RSS
some space for those departments/colleges who are
UK iTunes U struggling.
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
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successful
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And finally

63. Workflow: 3. Add it to a newsfeed
Time for
iTunes U At Oxford, we have produced an institutional newsfeed
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Cornelius
system called OXITEMS.
We have been using it since December 2005.
Introductions
iTunes U
I gave a talk about it at IWMW 2006: http://www.
Oxford’s site
ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/workshops/
Not using webmaster-2006/sessions/cornelius/
iTunes
Some colleges and departments already use OXITEMS
RSS
to provide newsfeeds.
UK iTunes U
Breakout
The newsfeed might be providing a list of news items,
Workflow a list of events (with dates, times, locations), ... .
Legal stuff Often the unit will be using the RSS themselves to
Checking display the contents of the newsfeed on their web page.
Being
successful
OXITEMS also provides podcasting newsfeeds:
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you have to supply additional metadata in each item
And finally including, for example, the URL of a media file.

64. Workflow: 3. Add it to a newsfeed
Time for
iTunes U This is the screen for adding a new item to OXITEMS:
Barry
Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

65. Workflow: 3. Add it to a newsfeed
Time for
iTunes U OXITEMS has evolved during the last three years.
Barry
Cornelius It needed a re-design.
Introductions So, we now have a project to produce an open source
iTunes U version of OXITEMS. It’s called openOXITEMS.
Oxford’s site
There are more details at:
Not using
iTunes http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/openoxitems
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
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And finally

66. Workflow: 4. Check the item can be seen
Time for
iTunes U Check that the item appears in the various places
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Cornelius
where you provide access to the newsfeed.
Introductions
The item will, within the next four hours, automatically
iTunes U
appear at http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk
Oxford’s site It will only appear in Oxford’s site in iTunes U, when a
Not using
iTunes
member of the Podcasting Team has checked the
RSS
quality and the paperwork. If it’s a new newsfeed, then
UK iTunes U that person will also have to use iTunes to add a new
Breakout course to Oxford’s iTunes U site.
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
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And finally

67. Legal stuff
Time for
iTunes U 1 Legal stuff: the issues
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Cornelius 2 Legal stuff: a plan of action
Introductions
3 Legal stuff: what happens at Oxford
iTunes U 4 Legal stuff: rights for the end-user
Oxford’s site
5 Legal stuff: advising the end-user of their rights
Not using
iTunes 6 Legal stuff: using RDF to convey CC licence
RSS
UK iTunes U Some parts of this section were derived from parts of The
Breakout Steeple Podcasting Booklet. The booklet is available at
Workflow
http://www.steeple.org.uk/. It has some excellent
Legal stuff
material. It is released under a Creative Commons Licence.
Checking
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successful
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And finally

68. Legal stuff: the issues
Time for
iTunes U When providing an audio recording, you need to
Barry consider:
Cornelius
speakers own what they say (their performance) and so
Introductions a contribution form is needed to give the rights to your
iTunes U institution;
Oxford’s site the recordist also has rights to their recording (the
Not using physical recording) and so needs to sign a release form;
iTunes
works used during the presentation also have
RSS
copyrights, for example, pictures, slides, songs, books.
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Permissions from third parties is hard to clear, and so,
Workflow during the talk the speaker cannot play commercial
Legal stuff music, read a poem or play commerical videos, without
Checking running into copyright issues.
Being
successful However, they can read short extracts from books and
Other projects articles.
And finally

69. Legal stuff: a plan of action
Time for
iTunes U Ask the speaker - well in advance of the talk - if you can
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Cornelius
record their talk and distribute it over the internet.
Introductions
Ensure the speaker signs a contribution form.
iTunes U Ask if the speaker plans to use poetry, music or video,
Oxford’s site and if so seriously consider whether recording and
Not using
iTunes
subsequent distribution is likely to be possible.
RSS Secure the permission of the recordist, who should also
UK iTunes U sign a release form.
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

70. Legal stuff: what happens at Oxford
Time for
iTunes U At Oxford, we have produced a document entitled
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Cornelius
Guidance on producing audio and video material for
publication online.
Introductions
iTunes U
There is a link to the document from
Oxford’s site http://itunes.ox.ac.uk/contribute.html
Not using
iTunes
If a member of the University wishes to submit a media
RSS
file for consideration for Oxford’s site in iTunes U, they
UK iTunes U have to complete a contribution form.
Breakout This has to be signed both by the speaker and the
Workflow relevant head of department or their representative.
Legal stuff
The text of this form is in Appendix A of the Guidance
Checking
Being
document.
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And finally

71. Legal stuff: what happens at Oxford
Time for
iTunes U
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Cornelius
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful You will have seen that photographs of people look
Other projects good on the album covers in iTunes U.
And finally So you may wish to get a photo of the speaker.

72. Legal stuff: what happens at Oxford
Time for
iTunes U Once again, you will need permission to use this photo
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Cornelius
in iTunes U.
Introductions
The consent form used at Oxford is in Appendix B of
iTunes U
the Guidance document.
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
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successful
Other projects
And finally

73. Legal stuff: rights for the end-user
Time for
iTunes U An end-user who downloads a recording from Oxford’s
Barry
Cornelius
site in iTunes U can only use it for personal use.
A different approach is taken by UCL.
Introductions
iTunes U
Since launch in June 2008, UCL has released their
Oxford’s site material with a Creative Commons licence.
Not using They use the Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike
iTunes
2.0 UK: England & Wales licence:
RSS
UK iTunes U
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
Breakout
by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
Workflow This means the end-user can use it for any
Legal stuff non-commercial purpose provided they credit the
Checking original speaker.
Being
successful They can also derive a new work from the recording
Other projects and if they distribute the new work they are required to
And finally license it with the same licence.

74. Legal stuff: advising the end-user of their rights
Time for
iTunes U If it’s an audio recording, you could top/tail it with a
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Cornelius
person saying something like: This recording
is from Lundy University’s site in
Introductions
iTunes U. It is released with a Creative
iTunes U
Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share
Oxford’s site
Not using
Alike 2.0 UK: England and Wales licence.
iTunes
UCL hijack the itunes:subtitle element:
RSS
UK iTunes U
<itunes:subtitle>
Breakout http://itunes.ucl.ac.uk/;
Workflow Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share
Alike 2.0 UK: England and Wales
Legal stuff
</itunes:subtitle>
Checking
Being In iTunes, you can see this information by clicking on
successful
Get Info and looking in the Comments box.
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And finally

75. Legal stuff: advising the end-user of their rights
Time for
iTunes U At the bottom of the top page of your site in iTunes U,
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Cornelius
you can add a link to a page describing the Copyright of
the material.
Introductions
iTunes U
UCL link to a web page describing how their material is
Oxford’s site licensed:
Not using http://itunes.ucl.ac.uk/licence/
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

76. Legal stuff: using RDF to convey CC licence
Time for
iTunes U You could add the following RDF to the RSS feed:
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Cornelius <rdf:RDF xmlns="http://wro/cc/"
xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#">
Introductions <License rdf:about=
iTunes U
"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/uk/">
<permits rdf:resource="http://wro/cc/Reproduction"/>
Oxford’s site
<permits rdf:resource="http://wro/cc/Distribution"/>
Not using <requires rdf:resource="http://wro/cc/Notice"/>
iTunes <requires rdf:resource="http://wro/cc/Attribution"/>
RSS <permits rdf:resource="http://wro/cc/DerivativeWorks"/>
UK iTunes U
<requires rdf:resource="http://wro/cc/ShareAlike"/>
</License>
Breakout
</rdf:RDF>
Workflow
Legal stuff where each wro should really be web.resource.org.
Checking But it’s unlikely the end-user would see this!
Being
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And finally

77. Checking
Time for
iTunes U 1 Checking: quality and legal
Barry
Cornelius 2 Checking: pre-launch site check
Introductions
3 Checking: four hourly integrity check
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

78. Checking: quality and legal
Time for
iTunes U Before a media file is allowed to appear in Oxford’s iTunes U
Barry
Cornelius
site, the recording has to be checked:
Introductions Do we have the paperwork, i.e., has the speaker signed
iTunes U a contribution form?
Oxford’s site
Is the quality of the audio and video acceptable?
Not using
iTunes Does it not include any copyright material from external
RSS sources (such as television, radio etc.)?
UK iTunes U
Does it not include controversial, defamatory or
Breakout
Workflow
libellous material?
Legal stuff Have contributions from other people (e.g., a question
Checking and answer session) been removed (unless there is
Being paperwork for these people)?
successful
Other projects
And finally

79. Checking: pre-launch site check
Time for
iTunes U Before launch, we asked someone who had not been
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Cornelius
involved with the project to examine our test site in
iTunes U.
Introductions
iTunes U
They were asked to check the site against a checklist
Oxford’s site which said what the site should look like.
Not using
iTunes
So the checklist defines the layout of the top page; it
RSS
defines what a category page should look like; and it
UK iTunes U defines the contents of a course page.
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

80. Checking: four hourly integrity check
Time for
iTunes U You can do a Web Service call (called ShowTree) to get
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Cornelius
data about the current state of your iTunes U site.
Every four hours, we get the latest ShowTree.xml file
Introductions
and do a check on its contents.
iTunes U
The script does a lot of checks on the RSS feeds that
Oxford’s site
will be accessed by our iTunes U site, including:
Not using
iTunes Accesses the RSS feed in order to check that the feed
RSS exists.
UK iTunes U Checks the RSS of the feed with a local copy of the feed
Breakout validator available at http://feedvalidator.org/
Workflow
Checks that all items of the RSS feed have a category
Legal stuff
code.
Checking
Checks that the recording exists by doing a HEAD on
Being
the URL of the recording.
successful Checks that there are no items for which the web server
Other projects will deliver the recording with a mime type of
And finally text/plain.

81. Checking: four hourly integrity check
Time for
iTunes U The four-hourly check also looks in the ShowTree.xml
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Cornelius
file to get all the URLs of the links in the LINKS boxes.
Introductions
It checks each URL in each of the LINKS boxes, e.g.,
iTunes U
http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/
Oxford’s site ?oxitunesu=1626719862
Not using to see that it is decorated with the handle of the
iTunes
iTunes U page that has the LINKS box.
RSS
UK iTunes U It also checks that the web page referred to by the URL
Breakout exists by doing a HEAD on the URL to get the headers
Workflow of the web page.
Legal stuff
Checking
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successful
Other projects
And finally

82. Being successful
Time for
iTunes U 1 Being successful: steps to achieve this
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Cornelius 2 Being successful: the heady days of the launch
Introductions
3 Being successful: OU has 1 million downloads
iTunes U 4 Being successful: Oxford’s current situation
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

83. Being successful: steps to achieve this
Time for
iTunes U It is important to get the commitment of people in
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Cornelius
departments and colleges. We managed to do this.
I think another part of our success was establishing a
Introductions
small management team. This had the right people
iTunes U
with different skills and we met fortnightly.
Oxford’s site
Not using
You need to have appropriate infrastructure: servers for
iTunes media files and a server for RSS feeds.
RSS
We provided advice and training to people in units,
UK iTunes U
offering them help with understanding the workflow, the
Breakout
hardware (e.g., media recorders), software (e.g.,
Workflow
Audacity), storing files (e.g., large video files).
Legal stuff
Checking
It’s important to brief key people of the University;
Being
to keep departments and colleges informed; to prepare
successful
press releases for launch day; and to liaise with Apple.
Other projects
Get the VC involved, and record him/her saying how
And finally
exciting it is for the University to be in iTunes U.

84. Being successful: steps to achieve this
Time for
iTunes U It is probably better to be X University rather than
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Cornelius
University of X as you are more easily found in the list
of Universities & Colleges.
Introductions
Rumour has it that the Open University launched as
iTunes U
The Open University and nobody found them in the list
Oxford’s site
Not using
as they were in the T s.
iTunes Their site was quickly renamed!
RSS It’s important to have checks in place to ensure that the
UK iTunes U information in your iTunes U site is correct: crucially,
Breakout do the GET buttons to mp3 and mp4 files work?
Workflow do the links to web pages work?
Legal stuff You need to continually drip new information into your
Checking
iTunes U site.
Being
successful In particular, you need to frequently change the items
Other projects on the top page to give the impression to visitors that
And finally it has new content.

85. Being successful: steps to achieve this
Time for
iTunes U Be topical and try to forecast what people are going to
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Cornelius
be interested in.
Introductions
In May 2008, Joseph Stiglitz, former vice-president of
iTunes U
the World Bank, gave a talk at the James Martin 21st
Oxford’s site Century School entitled Meeting the Challenges of
Not using Global Governance in the 21st Century: Lessons from
iTunes
the Global Financial Market Debacle.
RSS
UK iTunes U At launch (in October 2008), we thought it was an
Breakout excellent talk to put on Oxford’s top page. The day
Workflow before launch we retitled it to Stiglitz on Credit Crunch
Legal stuff - Global Financial Debacle: Meeting the Challenges of
Checking Global Governance in the 21st Century.
Being
successful It was at number 1 in the worldwide top downloads from
Other projects iTunes U for 6 weeks.
And finally

86. Being successful: steps to achieve this
Time for
iTunes U Provide items on your top page connected with
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Cornelius
anniversaries: Darwin 200, moon landing, ...
Provide items on your top page with provocative titles
Introductions
and interesting images.
iTunes U
For example, these are the items from the UK currently
Oxford’s site
Not using
in the worldwide top 50 downloads from iTunes U:
iTunes 8: Beginners’ French Introduction
RSS
9: A romp through the history of philosophy
UK iTunes U
20: Machiavelli: Nigel Warburton and Quentin Skinner
Breakout
30: Beginners’ Spanish Introduction
Workflow
31: Our Invisible Sun
Legal stuff
Checking
33: Beginners’ German Introduction
Being
35: Building a Business: Negotation Skills
successful
40: Sociology of Intellectual Life
Other projects
44: Is Human Evolution Over?
And finally
48: What is consciousness?

87. Being successful: the heady days of the launch
Time for
iTunes U Visitors to our main website at
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Cornelius
http://www.ox.ac.uk went up by 20 per cent on
7th October 2008, the day our site was launched in
Introductions
iTunes U.
iTunes U
Oxford’s site From the statistics that Apple provide, we estimate that
Not using in the first seven days we had about 168000 visitors to
iTunes
our site in iTunes U and more importantly about 60000
RSS
downloads.
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

88. Being successful: the heady days of the launch
Time for
iTunes U A fortnight after the launch, Oxford had 22 podcasts in the
Barry
Cornelius
worldwide top 100 downloads from iTunes U:
Introductions 1 Joseph Stiglitz on Credit Crunch
iTunes U
12 Stuart Lee’s Old English Tour - British Library
13 Michael Palin’s Oxford
Oxford’s site
14 Steve Wozniak
Not using 15 Simon Benjamin’s Nanotechnology Part 1
iTunes
18 Stern on the Economics of Climate Change
RSS 19 Stainaker 2007 Lecture 1 Starting in the middle
UK iTunes U 25 Craig Venter on Genomics
27 Ward-Perkins on the Fall of the Roman Empire
Breakout
33 Is Oxford for me? Nicholson,Coulston,Gallagher
Workflow 40 Adrian Moore on Metaphysics
Legal stuff 47 Anna Beer’s John Milton
48 Vice-Chancellors’s Welcome
Checking
61 What is science for? Dawkins,Harris,Sulston
Being 66 Thomas Helleday on Cancer
successful
67 Alan Barr on Particle Physics
Other projects ...
And finally

89. Being successful: OU has 1 million downloads
Time for
iTunes U As mentioned earlier, the Open University was one of
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Cornelius
the two UK sites to launch their iTunes U site in
June 2008.
Introductions
iTunes U
As reported at http://www3.open.ac.uk/media/
Oxford’s site fullstory.aspx?id=14638 on 13th October 2008,
Not using they have done really well in the first four months:
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

90. Being successful: Oxford’s current situation
Time for
iTunes U Since October 2008, there have been 900000 downloads
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Cornelius
from Oxford’s site in iTunes U:
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

91. Being successful: Oxford’s current situation
Time for
iTunes U On Oxford’s site in iTunes U, there are 519 recordings
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in 160 newsfeeds.
Introductions
That’s 243 hours of material.
iTunes U There have been 900000 downloads from iTunes U
Oxford’s site since October 2008.
Not using
iTunes The popular feeds have 2500 downloads per week.
RSS In addition, there are about 2500 downloads per week
UK iTunes U
from the web site at podcasts.ox.ac.uk.
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

92. Other projects
Time for
iTunes U 1 Other projects: Steeple
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Cornelius 2 Other projects: Open Spires
Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

93. Other projects: Steeple
Time for
iTunes U Steeple is a JISC funded UK Higher Education
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community project.
It is led by Oxford University, the Open University and
Introductions
Cambridge University.
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Other universities are friends: UCL, Reading,
Not using Nottingham, Oxford Brookes, Sheffield.
iTunes
Other UK HE Institutions are encouraged to join in.
RSS
UK iTunes U
The project started in November 2008.
Breakout
Its vision is to create a viable community
Workflow around scalable, enterprise-level solutions
Legal stuff in the areas of automated video/audio capture,
Checking video/audio processing, and video/audio delivery
Being
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("podcasting").
Other projects
In seven words: investigate, develop and document
And finally sustainable institutional podcasting.

94. Other projects: Steeple
Time for
iTunes U Some aspects of the work are:
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Cornelius
a demonstrator of a web portal for displaying an
institution’s podcasts;
Introductions a demonstrator of a cross-institutional aggregator of
iTunes U podcasts;
Oxford’s site documentation of the program workflows for the
Not using ingestion and creation of multiple file formats together
iTunes
with the associated metadata;
RSS
a demonstrator of a process management system that
UK iTunes U
tracks the progress of all project, activities, content and
Breakout
RSS items in the system from birth to delivery.
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

95. Other projects: Steeple
Time for
iTunes U Here’s the URL of an experimental aggregator:
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Cornelius
http://podcast.steeple.org.uk/content/
view/133/98/
Introductions
iTunes U
The Steeple project’s wiki is at
Oxford’s site http://steeple.oucs.ox.ac.uk/
Not using
iTunes
On that wiki, you will find podcasts, manuals, guides,
RSS
FAQs and code.
UK iTunes U One of the podcasts is by Ben Hawkridge (The Open
Breakout University).
Workflow
It’s a talk he gave entitled Under the bonnet: Technical
Legal stuff
considerations in running Open University Podcasting.
Checking
Being It was given at the Beyond Walls conference held at the
successful
University of Oxford in April 2009.
Other projects
And finally

96. Other projects: Open Spires
Time for
iTunes U Open Spires has two purposes:
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Cornelius
1. to increase the amount of educational audio and
video content released from Oxford University
Introductions as Open Content Resources (OER)
iTunes U 2. to enable the University to investigate and
Oxford’s site disseminate the institutional implications of making
Not using some of this material available as ’Open Content’.
iTunes
RSS It is a one year project that started on 1st May 2009.
UK iTunes U More details are available at;
Breakout http://openspires.oucs.ox.ac.uk/
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
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Other projects
And finally

97. And finally
Time for
iTunes U 1 And finally: some conclusions
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Introductions
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
Not using
iTunes
RSS
UK iTunes U
Breakout
Workflow
Legal stuff
Checking
Being
successful
Other projects
And finally

98. And finally: some conclusions
Time for
iTunes U Often institutions are already providing
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Cornelius
media recordings of seminars, lectures and events,
and making these mp3/mp4 files available on their
Introductions
web pages.
iTunes U
Oxford’s site
The advantages of using Apple’s iTunes U is that it
Not using
allows you to offer a way of bringing the institution’s
iTunes
media recordings into one place.
RSS
You are providing a more convenient way in which the
UK iTunes U
public can see what’s available.
Breakout
Workflow
The usage statistics show that it works.
Legal stuff It’s also important to provide a different way of
Checking showcasing your recordings for those unable/unwilling
Being to use iTunes.
successful
Other projects
To be successful, you need support from people around
And finally the University, and you need to market your site.

99. And finally: your questions and comments
Time for
iTunes U It’s time for your questions and comments.
Barry
Cornelius ...
Introductions ...
iTunes U ...
Oxford’s site
My name is Barry Cornelius. I work for
Not using
iTunes Oxford University Computing Services (OUCS).
RSS
My e-mail address is:
UK iTunes U
barry.cornelius@oucs.ox.ac.uk
Breakout
Workflow Queries to the Podcasting Team can be sent to:
Legal stuff podcasts@oucs.ox.ac.uk
Checking
These slides are available from
Being
successful http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/
Other projects presentations
And finally