One of the tools available to us here is iTunes U. Some of your college classes will use podcasts. These are typically audio lectures but sometimes enhanced with images or video. The difference between podcasts and just sound files downloaded on the internet is that you subscribe to podcasts using iTunes. You can use iTunes to find podcasts that will help you study, teach you to learn a foreign language, or for just entertainment.

A podcast is syndicated content that people listen to on their mp3 players. An mp3 file is a sound file on the internet. Some use their phone as an mp3 player or just listen to mp3s on their computers.

People download iTunes to their computers and download music, entertainment, news and yes, even educational materials to their mp3 players. Once they subscribe, the content is always updated on their computers.

The first thing your need to do is to download iTunes from apple.com/iTunes. We use iTunes U – iTunes University – with Blackboard classes here at Tacoma Community College. Having iTunes already installed on your computer and having some idea what a podcast is will make things easier for you later on either here or at other institutions.

You will want to download iTunes, install it on your computer, and then go to iTunes U. There are a lot of great podcasts out there. Feel free to explore.

But for our class, look up “Health & Medicine.” There are a lot of universities represented in iTunes U. As a health professional, you will want to keep in touch with what is happening in your field. You will want to know about some of the latest advances or the political and socio-economic forces that may shape your field. Subscribing to a podcast is like subscribing to a journal. Every time they update the content, you get it directly downloaded to iTunes.

Click on a podcast that interests you.

This one is called “Mini-medical School” – if you are new to the field of medicine, it is good to have a broad understanding of what is happening in the field. The University of Washington makes this easy with this twelve part series of lectures that are designed to teach you about medical science, patient care, and the cutting edge research taking place at the University of Washington.

Click on your “Podcasts” link in iTunes.

Notice that it now shows up on your computer. I have a lot of podcasts that I subscribe to but the new one is the one with the orange wheel next to it. That tells you that it is downloading an episode to my computer. I can just listen to it on my computer, or the next time I synch my iPod, it will automatically be downloaded and I will be ready to listen to it at the gym or on the road. Mind you, there are a number of ways to access podcasts and we have a link to iTunes U in Blackboard but we want you to be familiar with the medium before you need to access it for your classes. Contact the information commons if you have any questions about podcasts or iTunes U.