July 11, 2007

Best of iTunes University

iTunes is no longer letting us link to their individual iTunes U offerings. The most we can do is link to the iTunes U home page. So you’ll have to go to the iTunes U home page and then search these great offerings there:

iTunes U Home Page

Apple iTunes now features a section of their store called iTunes U which features free audio & video downloads from dozens of universities across the United States and around the world including Stanford, Duke, MIT, Arizona State, and more.

At LearnOutLoud.com we combed through these free resources to pick out the best lectures, courses, and audio & video programs that iTunes U offers. Here are the best titles on iTunes U:

Stanford University:

Philosophy Talk at Stanford University – Hour-long radio series produced by Ben Manilla discussing a wide range of philosophical topics with contemporary philosophers.

The Aurora Forum at Stanford University – Popular nonfiction authors and intellectuals come together to discuss their books and contemporary issues in society.

Hoover Institution Lectures – Libertarian public policy think tank out of Stanford featuring talks on politics and economics both domestic and foreign.

Stanford Technology Ventures Program Lectures – Over 40 hour-long lectures from entrepreneurial thought leaders at the intersection of business and technology.

The Literature of Crisis – One of many free downloadable courses offered by Stanford, this course taught by Martin Evans and Marsh McCall covers Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy, Plato’s Apology, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Voltaire’s Candide.

Hannibal – Lecture course covering the life of the Carthaginian military commander Hannibal.

Geography of World Cultures – Course examining the locational dynamics of the world’s languages, religions, and ethnic groupings.

Arizona State University:

Arizona State University News and Events Audio – Over 100 free lectures from ASU from visiting speakers covering the gamut of topics.

Ask a Biologist – Geared towards students from preschool to high school, Dr. Biology works with guests to explore many biological subjects.

Introduction to Exercise Science & Wellness – ASU course on video which provides a brief overview of the field of Exercise Science & Wellness.

Building Healthy Lifestyles Conference – Conference devoted to promoting healthy lifestyles with doctors addressing physical activity, surviving cancer, getting enough sleep, mindfulness, and other methods for living a healthy life.

Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict – Talks delivered on religious wars and religious terrorism as well as numerous lectures on Transhumanism (which we’re not sure what they have to do with religion and conflict, but they look interesting).

New Jersey Institute of Technology:

World Literature & World Literature II – Courses taught by professor Norbert Elliot covering works of literature and authors from all over the world.

Technology & Society Forum Series at NJIT – Forward-looking series of lectures which looks at technology from a global and environmental perspective.

Confronting the Insurmountable Opportunities of Online Education – Discussion covering issues that impact the effectiveness of online teaching and learning.

Texas A&M University:

George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service Speeches – Speeches from the recipient of this award recognizing an individual’s or group’s dedication to public service at the local, state, national or international levels, including speeches from Helmut Kohl, Mikhail Gorbachev, Edward M. Kennedy, Reverend Billy Graham, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

University of South Florida:

Lit2Go: Audio Files for K-12 – Massive collection of audio poetry, short stories, and novels for all grade levels from kindergarten to 12th grade.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for Kindergarteners:
Features Robert Louis Stevenson poems for children, as well as classic nursery rhymes like “Jack and Jill”, “Little Bo-Peep”, “Hickory Dickory Dock”, and “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep”.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 1st Graders:
Features more classic poems and fairy tales including Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”, “Fire! Fire! Burn Stick!” from Aesop’s Fables, “Humpty Dumpty”, “Peter Piper”, and “The Twelve Days of Christmas”.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 2nd Graders:
Features “The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit” by Beatrix Potter, “The Hare and the Hedgehog” by The Brothers Grimm, more Robert Louis Stevenson poems, and an unabridged audio book called The Outdoor Girls in Florida by Laura Lee Hope.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 3rd Graders:
Features a number of Aesop’s Fables, “The Ugly Duckling” & “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Anderson, “How the Alphabet Was Made” by Rudyard Kipling, and the audio books Squinty, the Comical Pig by Richard Barnum, The Outdoor Chums on the Gulf; or, Rescuing the Lost Balloonists by Captain Quincy Allen, and Jack Tier, or the Florida Reef by James Fenimore Cooper.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 4th Graders:
Features many more of Aesop’s Fables, tales by Beatrix Potter, and the unabridged audio books The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Seven O’Clock Stories by Robert Gordon Anderson, The Tale of Tommy Fox by Arthur Scott Bailey, Whitefoot the Woodmouse by Thornton W. Burgess, and many of Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 5th Graders:
Features “Sleeping Beauty” by The Brothers Grimm, even more of Aesop’s Fables, tales by Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Brownie Beaver by Arthur Scott Bailey, The Go Ahead Boys and the Racing Motor-Boat by Ross Kay, Curly and Floppy Twistytail the Funny Piggie Boys by Howard R. Garis, The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat by Thornton W. Burgess, Half-Past Seven Stories by Robert Gordon Anderson, Beyond the City by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 6th Graders:
Features dozens of short stories including many by Virginia Woolf and Rudyard Kipling. Also features the audio books The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, & The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum, Famous Stories Every Child Should Know, The Story of Siegfried by James Baldwin, The Light Princess by George MacDonald, The Open Boat by Stephen Crane, A Florida Sketch-Book by Bradford Torrey, Sylvie and Bruno & Sylvie and Bruno Concluded by Lewis Carroll, Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Philosophy and Fun of Algebra by Mary Everest Boole, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 7th Graders:
Features Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous short stories, as well as the audio books The Tin Woodman of Oz & Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum, The Little Lame Prince by Maria Dinah Mulock Craik, The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, and The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 8th Graders:
Features poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, short stories by Emily Bronte, more of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous short stories, and the audio books In the Wilds of Florida by W. H. G. Kingston, Logic: Deductive and Inductive by Carveth Read, M.A., The Number Concept: Its Origin and Development by Levi Leonard Conant, Ph. D., The Mystery of Edwin Drood & Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 9th Graders:
Features “History” essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson, more poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and the audio books Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Wakulla, A Story of Adventure in Florida & Canoemates: A Story of the Florida Reef and Everglades by Kirk Munroe, Florida Trails by Winthrop Packard, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson, A Victorious Union by Oliver Optic, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain, Dracula by Bram Stoker, The Mystery of Cloomber by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 10th Graders:
Features the audio books St. Augustine Under Three Flags: Tourist Guide and History, Symbolic Logic by Lewis Carroll, The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, The Professor by Charlotte Bronte, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 11th Graders:
Features the audio books The Game of Logic by Lewis Carroll, The Scarlet Letter, The Blithedale Romance & The Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Deductive Logic by George William Joseph Stock, M.A., Lettres Philosophiques by Francois-Marie Arouet, and Beowulf translated by Frances B. Grummere.

Lit2Go: Audio Files for 12th Graders:
Features the audio books Physics by Aristotle, Lectures on Ten British Mathematicians of the Nineteenth Century by Alexander MacFarlane, A Short Account of the History of Mathematics by W. W. Rouse Ball, History of Modern Mathematics by David Eugene Smith, Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott, The Flamingo Feather by Kirk Munroe, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, and Spherical Trigonometry by Isaac Todhunter.

Concordia Seminary:

Lay Bible Institute – Which Jesus? – Course taught by Jeffery Kloha exploring the historical Jesus from the perspective of the canonical and gnostic gospels.

Elementary Greek – Language learning course covering Greek grammar and pronunciation.

The Lutheran Mind – Lecture course covering the core ideas of Lutheran theology.

Seattle Pacific University:

Seattle Pacific University Campus Lectures & Forums – Over 80 lectures on Christian topics, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and much more.

John M. Perkins Lectures – Outspoken Christian and civil rights leader John M. Perkins delivers talks on racial reconciliation, leadership training, and community development.

Martin Luther King, Jr. – Over twenty lectures celebrating the life, work, and calling of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thomas F. Staley Distinguished Christian Scholar Lectures – Dozens of lectures from distinguished Christian scholars including Ravi Zacharias, James Sire, and many others.

J.R.R. Tolkien – Numerous lectures on “The Lord of the Rings as a Defense of Western Civilization”, as well as lectures about Tolkien’s relationship with C.S. Lewis.

MIT OpenCourseWare:

Introduction to Psychology – Course covering questions about human behavior and mental life ranging from how you see to why you fall in love taught by Jeremy Wolfe.

Electricity & Magnetism – Comprehensive physics course on video taught by award-winning physics professor Walter Lewin.

Animal Behavior – Comprehensive course covering the categories of adapative behavior in animals covering the evolution of behavior and sociobiology.

Philosophy of Love in the Western World – American philosopher Irving Singer gives 4 two-hour lectures on the philosophy of love which he has written numerous books about. These lectures are available on downloadable video and can also be streamed through MIT course website.

Physics I: Classical Mechanics – Popular MIT lecturer Walter Lewin leads this freshman physics class available on video download.

UC Berkeley:

Arts Events & Programs at UC Berkeley – Prominent poets read their works at UC Berkeley’s Lunch Poems.

Politics & Public Policy Events & Programs at UC Berkeley – Talks from John Edwards, Robert Reich, Robert F. Kennedy, Joseph Wilson IV, and more.

All UC Berkeley Courses – And don’t forget to check out the 100+ audio courses that UC Berkeley is now offering in their generous and expansive catalog.

Heideggers Being and Time, Division II Podcast – A new course on Heidegger and his influence on contemporary European philosophy from professor Hubert L. Dreyfus.

Introduction to Practical Reasoning and Critical Analysis of Argument Podcast – Course covering rhetoric and logic examining both ancient and modern approaches.

The Roman Empire Podcast – A history of Rome from Augustus to Constantine.

Shakespeare Podcast – Course on Shakespeare eventually covering the plays Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Othello, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, All’s Well that Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra, Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest.

Pennsylvania State University:

Penn State Institute for the Arts and Humanities Faculty Lecture Series – Where else can you get a lecture called “Sexual Geographies: Utopian Terrains of the Late-Victorian Counterculture”?

Colorism: Global Perspectives on How Skin Color Still Matters – Colorism Symposium covering topics in discrimination on the basis of skin color.

Michigan Tech University:

Introductory Astronomy – Video course taught by Robert J. Nimeroff covering the solar system, the stars, and the whole universe.

Digital Logic – Michigan Tech University Course – EE 2171 – Course covering digital logic including Boolean algebra, binary numbers, logic gates, combinational and sequential logic, and other topics complete with PDF Lecture Notes.

Otis College of Art and Design:

Modern Art History – Course taught by Jeanne Willette covering everything from Impressionism to Dada.

Duke University:

Duke University: Fuqua/Coach K Leadership Conference – Numerous lectures on attaining the edge in leadership in sports, business, and more.

Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Addresses – Speeches from Angela Davis, Harry Belafonte, and others commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.

Duke University: Kenan Institute for Ethics Lectures – Lectures confronting ethical issues such as Goodness & Evil, Knowledge & Society, and more.

Duke University: Nicholas Talks – Over twenty talks from the Nicholas School of Environment and Earth Sciences covering pollution, ecosystems, deforestation, biodiversity, and more.

Provost Lecture Series: Privacy at Risk? – Features a lecture by blogger Cory Doctorow entitled “From Myspace to Homeland Security: Privacy and the Totalitarian Urge”.

Abilene Christian University:

Clinical Dietetics I – Dr. Sheila Jones covers diet and nutrition in relation to numerous disorders and diseases.

American Military University:

Sports Training Videos – Short downloadable videos covering baseball, lacrosse, the weight room, and sports medicine.

Broome Community College:

Physical Therapist Assistant Program – Short videos covering muscle testing for every area of the body.

Central Washington University:

Moments in American History – 90-second historical video documentaries featuring numerous historians covering specific moments in American history from 1750 to the present.

Central Washington University Lectures & Events – Featuring guest speakers such as Gloria Steinem, Bobby McFerrin, Angela Davis, Jean Michel Cousteau, and Robert Kennedy Jr.

CWU Counseling Center – Relaxation and mindfulness exercises for anyone seeking emotional health.

DePaul University:

Basic Spanish – Audio files of basic Spanish speaking to improve your listening comprehension.

Intellectual Property Scholars Conference – Conference featuring the presentations of 75 scholars covering a vast array of topics regarding intellectual property.

DePaul Humanities Center Audio – Features a lecture by the Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute Clayborne Carson entitled “Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.”, along with many other intriguing lectures.

Gordon College:

Gordon College Featured Speakers – Interviews, addresses, and lectures at Gordon College including a talk by author Brian McLaren along with many other Christian speakers.

Lehigh University:

The Examined Life: Intro to Philosophy – Lectures and post-lecture talks on Plato and Descartes from Professor Greg Reihman.

Bio Science in the 21st Century – Multidisciplinary survey course on biological science today covering stem cells, genes, neurobiology, and more featuring video lectures from many experts in their fields.

Miami Dade College:

The Earth Ethics Institute – Video lectures covering environmental ethics and ways to pursue a green and sustainable future.

Northeastern University:

Welcome to Boston: Audio Tours – Full audio of the Boston Harbor Walk Audio Tour.

Free Culture Forum – Lawrence Lessig and other experts on free culture give talks at the Free Culture Forum.

Queen’s University:

Ethnicity & Democratic Governance – Talks from the Ethnicity and Democratic Governance Project International Summer Institute covering many aspects of governing ethnic diversity.

Reformed Theological Seminary:

C.S. Lewis – Course on C.S. Lewis covering his biography, theology, ethics, and more. Reformed Theological Seminary features over 20 free courses to download!

Rock Valley College:

Film History and Appreciation – Brian Shelton provides brief descriptions of different aspects of film including film production, documentary, and more.

UMBC:

BIO 305: Animal Physiology – In this course Dr. Frank Hanson takes a comparative approach to the study of how various selective pressures have resulted in the evolution of specific solutions to physiological problems.

University of Arizona:

Global Climate Change Lecture Series – Seven video lectures covering Global Climate Change and what could happen as a result of it and what ways there are to stop it.

University of Pennsylvania:

60 Second Lectures from the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts & Sciences – Entertaining 60 second lectures from University of Pennsylvania faculty covering a potpourri of topics.

Moynihan Report Revisited – Numerous lectures looking back at Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s 1965 report on the high joblessness among black men as a principal cause of poverty and family instability among African Americans.

University of Southern California:

Faculty at USC: What Matters to Me and Why – USC professors give their stories about what matters to them and why.

USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences – From USC’s largest academic schools comes a number of fabulous lectures such as “Quaking in California: The Faults Beneath Our Feet”, “History of Hollywood”, and author T. C. Boyle talking about his latest novel “Talk Talk”.

USC School of Cinematic Arts Speaker Series – Speakers include documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, director Ron Howard, and others working in the industry of film and television.

University of the Pacific:

Engineering and Technology in a New Millenium – Cutting edge video lectures on covering everything from neonatal hearing testing to the world’s largest wind tunnel.

Vanderbilt University:

Worlds of Wordcraft – A unique course exploring the interactive technology and narratives of video games.

The Rev. James Lawson on the Non-Violence Struggle – A course of video lectures by a leading theoretician and tactician of nonviolence within the American Civil Rights Movement Rev. James Lawson.

Yale University:

Yale Religion Podcasts – Theologians, scholars, educators and clerics at the Yale Divinity School talk about faith in American and the rest of the world.

Yale International Podcasts – From the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization comes from speakers on the international stage including Thomas L. Friedman on how “The Flattening World Challenges The Imagination” and an interview of the late Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto about “The Future Of Pakistan”.

Highlights from new educational providers on iTunes U:

American Public Media:

Living Buddhism – Thich Nhat Hanh and other practicing Buddhists discuss this religion with Krista Tippett, host of the American Public Media program Speaking of Faith.

Vietnam & the Presidency – Series of American RadioWorks audio documentaries covering the Vietnam War and its effects on the U.S. Presidency, including interviews with David Halberstam, Jimmy Carter, General Wesley Clark, Dan Rather, and many others.

American Theatre Wing:

Downstage Center – Over 180 in-depth single subject interviews with theatre artists, producers and others in the field, addressing their most recent work as well as providing an overview of their careers.

Gilder Lehrman Institute:

American Presidents – Historians from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History discuss their books on American presidents.

Slavery and Abolition – Scholars discuss the history of slavery and abolition in the United Stated from the Founding era through the Civil War.

Indianapolis Museum of Art:

Indianapolis Museum of Art Raw and Uncut – Video interviews with numerous artists at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Little Kids Rock:

Little Kids Rock: Guitar Lessons – 20 short video lessons teaching kids to play the guitar complete with PDF lesson books.

Museum of Modern Art:

Edvard Munch: The Modern Life of the Soul – Audio covering MoMA’s exhibition of Edvard Munch and his paintings with a link to the online collection that can be viewed. MoMA’s exhibition archive features 25 of their past exhibitions with audio, video, and online collections to view.

Pablo Picasso – Audio from MoMA’s Selected Artists gallery covering Picasso’s seminal work of modern art “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” along with many other paintings by Picasso. The Selected Artists offerings include audio on the paintings of Henri Matisse and other reknowned modern artists.

PBS:

Meet the Author – Interviews with popular children’s authors from WETA Learning Media.

QUEST: Science and Nature – KQED’s QUEST explores science and nature through video programs focusing on astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, environment, geology, health, physics, and weather.

ResearchChannel:

Allen Edwards Psychology Lectures – Nationally distinguished psychologists give talks on different aspects of psychology.

Behind the Code from Microsoft Research – From the office of the CTO of Microsoft comes these talks with the most influential technical employees who give their personal stories about their careers.

Loma Linda University’s Bioethics Grand Rounds – Presentations on topics in Bioethics, including physician-assisted suicide, handling medical errors, neurobiology, and other critical issues.

Samuel and Althea Stroum Lectures in Jewish Studies – October 2006 – Series of three lectures by Dr. Lawrence H. Schiffman entitled “Creation, Revelation, and Redemption: The Religion of the Dead Sea Scrolls”.

Smithsonian Global Sound:

Smithsonian Global Sound Talking Music – Ethnomusicologists discuss various types of ethnographic music.

UCTV:

UCTV: Religion and Spirituality – Downloadable audio versions of UCTV offerings including talks with John Selby Spong, Rabbi Michael Lerner, and an interesting talk entitled “Gen-Xers: Changing American Religion”.

US Holocaust Memorial Museum:

Genocide Prevention: What You Can Do – Stories of individuals taking action when it comes to confronting genocide in Congo, Darfur, Rwanda, and throughout the world.

Holocaust History: Eyewitness Testimonies & Personal Stories – From the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s oral history collection, listen to stories of Holocaust survivors.

WGBH:

Life Science: WGBH Teacher’s Domain – Short videos from WGBH’s NOVA that can be used by educators as a resource.

Politics: WGBH Forum Network – Political talks at the WGBH Forum Network including numerous notable liberal thinkers such as Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Chris Hedges, Robert Fisk, Amy Goodman, Paul Krugman, and others.

So that’s all for our latest update on the best of iTunes U. A special thanks to all the universities and providers offering these audio & video titles and to iTunes for orchestrating such an invaluable resource. Now load up your iPods or other portable audio & video players and start learning out loud!