Harvard Extension joins iTunes U

The Harvard Extension School today announced the release of select course content for free through Apple's iTunes U service. The school is providing free public access to video previews of 15 of the 50 Harvard Extension School distance education courses that are available this spring covering the fields of computer science, management, environmental science, history, and the liberal arts. Each 10-15 minute video introduction gives viewers a virtual taste of the Harvard classroom and the opportunity to experience Harvard Extension School distance education, according to the school. Audio of each complete two-hour introductory lecture is also available for via digital download, and courses are taught by distinguished faculty from Harvard and other universities as well as working professionals who bring their expertise to the classroom. The Harvard Extension School is offering online registration for complete courses through February 4th.

Course previews include Harvard professor Mikael Adolphson's Japan: Tradition and Transformation; Harvard professor Shaye J. D. Cohen's A Thematic Introduction to the Hebrew Bible; Harvard's Scott Bradner's Advanced Topics in Data Networking, and Suffolk University professor Robert J. Allison's The History of Boston.

An additional course -- Bits -- which explores living in the digital media world taught by Harvard professor Harry R. Lewis, will be available via podcast in its entirety later this spring. The course complements Understanding Computers and the Internet, a 16-week fall term course currently available as a podcast. The course, taught by Harvard's David J. Malan, has already gained popularity as the first Harvard course to be available as a podcast. The Harvard Extension School says it will continue to add more video and audio content as it becomes available.

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