HACC Gettysburg Campus math course top download in iTunes U
Aug. 13, 2009
Gettysburg, PA – An innovative Introduction to Statistics podcasting course developed by HACC instructor Jason Rosenberry was recognized this summer as “New and Notable” and a “Featured Course” by Apple Computers’ iTunes University, and was the top downloaded mathematics course among all those presented through iTunes U. Rosenberry, a full-time math instructor at HACC’s Gettysburg Campus, was the first HACC faculty member to use SMART Notebook software to record his instructional podcasts on the iTunes U Web site.
The iTunes U site was developed by Apple to deliver educational content, as a supplement to the popular iTunes Music Store through which music, songs and videos can be purchased for play on iPods and iPhones. However, iTunes U courses can be downloaded free-of-charge and can be accessed by anyone with a computer and Internet access; additional portable technology is not needed.
The iTunes U courses are readily available to students at HACC Gettysburg, since the campus features free campus-wide Internet access and computers are available throughout the campus for student use. The courses are also available throughout the world, and are accessed by many students in addition to those at HACC. Rosenberry’s Introduction to Statistics course was downloaded 6,351 times during a two-month period from May 24 through July 26.
Rosenberry also teaches iTunes U courses in Math 103-College Algebra and Math 051-Intermediate Algebra. The SMART technology/Podcasting combination is now being used by other HACC instructors, and three of HACC’s math programs have been featured at once among “Top Ten” iTunes U courses. Increasing numbers of colleges are becoming part of iTunes U, and course listings have also included much larger institutions such as Texas A&M, Cornell University and Stanford.
Rosenberry named several major advantages that the programs provide for students. “Students who have to miss a class can download the class session through iTunes U, and it is as if they were there in person. They hear my voice explaining the lesson, they see the notes I write on the SMART board, they have access to handouts, notes, examples and practice problems. They can even bring up an image of a graphing calculator to practice statistics exercises.”
“Even when students have been in class, the program allows for repeated review and practice of concepts they didn’t understand in the classroom,” Rosenberry continued. “We wondered at first if iTunes U access would give students an excuse to miss class, but we’ve found that it hasn’t affected attendance.”
Student feedback about course delivery has been positive, said Rosenberry. One student emailed, “I absolutely love the content on there [iTunes U]. Thank you very much for putting the effort into putting the program together.” Another said, “I would spend many hours reviewing the lecture on iTunes, a lot of time finding mistakes that I had made on homework and also picking up problem solving procedures that I missed in class because I was taking notes. I found that for the few classes I missed due to work, being able to catch the lecture again kept me up top speed with the class. Having this technology available is a great resource and helps to build confidence, especially during tests and quizzes.”
For more information about the Podcasting program at HACC Gettysburg Campus, contact Jason Rosenberry at 717-337-3855 or jwrosenb@hacc.edu.
