This morning while reading Open Culture I was reminded of some free resources that are great for personal learning. Open Culture pointed out that the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford offer good collections of free audio and video podcasts. The episodes can be found on each university’s website or on iTunes U. In total there are 136 colleges and universities that offer audio and video podcasts on iTunes U.

Another place to find universities sharing lectures and courses online is through YouTube’s education channels. Finding educational material from universities on YouTube does require sifting through some garbage, but if you’re willing to do that you can find some good stuff like the Penn State, Harvard, and Stanford YouTube channels.

Applications for Education
iTunes U and YouTube’s university channels offer some good resources for personal learning both for you and for your students. If you’re a high school teacher and have students that are interested in learning more about a particular topic, consider referring them to iTunes U. Most students are familiar with iTunes, but they might not know about iTunes U. And remember, you don’t have to have an iPod to access podcasts.