The Internet puts you a few clicks away from the best college lectures in America


"College is expensive. But if you are willing to settle for an education and don’t need the extra frill of a degree, the Internet now offers a way to listen to first-rate instruction—the kind that would normally cost upwards of $40,000 per year—for free. I’m referring to the rise of university podcasts: recordings of classes, lectures, and special events that are catalogued and made available online to anyone with the inclination to listen."

"Although it has been more than a decade since audio recordings of classes first appeared online—UC Berkeley began offering a small number of classes in 1995—the increased availability of high-speed Internet connections, paired with user-friendly distribution services such as Apple’s iTunes has lead to an explosion in their availability. In 2006, Berkeley’s program, perhaps the most vibrant, offered 82 courses—over 3,000 hours of material—in addition to several special events. Parts of this content, much of which is available with video as well as audio, were downloaded more than six million times last year. And although Berkeley’s program is particularly strong, it is far from an aberration. Most top-tier institutions now have a podcasting program of some sort, including Stanford, the University of Chicago, MIT, and the entire Ivy League. (A good listing of university podcasts is available through the Apple’s iTunes U or on the Open Culture weblog. An excellent collection of special events is available through the University Channel, administered by Princeton.)"

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Posted: Wed - August 15, 2007 at 08:40 PM          

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