Apple’s iTunes U passed its latest milestone in the first quarter of 2013, surpassing 1 billion downloads for the popular education platform, which includes free content from schools, libraries, museums and other prominent organizations.
In announcing the milestone in February 2013, Apple executives said more than 250,000 students are enrolled in iTunes U courses worldwide. Approximately 1,200 colleges and universities, as well as a similar number of K-12 schools, offer iTunes U courses in an array of subjects.
The growth of Apple’s education market downloads may be considered a reflection of the growing interest in online education. While the push to offer university courses online has been progressing for quite some time, there recently has been an upsurge in the quantity of higher education courses and degrees offered 100% online. Previously, online degrees often required participation in some classroom courses on campus, if only to complete a group project of some type.
In January 2013, the California State University system, one of the largest educational systems in the world, announced a pilot program with a private provider of online courses to offer three mathematics courses online. Each course at San Jose State University will cost $150, significantly less than the typical cost of a for-credit course.
The American Council on Education recently announced that its approximately 1,800 member universities can start offering credit for five MOOCs, or massive open online courses. The MOOCs, which include courses from Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania, are offered through a private company. Member colleges will decide whether to award credits to students who successfully complete the online courses.
Apple’s iTunes U was among the earliest such products made available to educational institutions and the company has sought to push its market advantage by making iTunes U the benchmark by which all others are measured. According to TechCrunch, Apple has also sold more than 8 million iPads to educational institutions.
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