Apple Updates iTunes U With Integrated Grade Book, Ability to Hand In Homework, More

Apple has updated iTunes U with an integrated grade book, the ability for students hand in their home work assignments, and more.

iTunes U provides everything an instructor needs to bring their classroom together on iPad—build lessons with apps and your own materials, collect and grade assignments from students, discuss one-on-one or in groups, and annotate PDF assignments.

For Instructors:
• Plan lessons, grade assignments, and stay connected—all right from your iPad
• Add your own teaching materials—including documents, worksheets, web links, photos, and videos
• Engage every learner by including apps, books, videos, podcasts and more from iTunes, App Store, and iBooks
• Add instructions or comments to PDFs with built-in annotation tools
• See when students have viewed their assignments, completed their work, or remind them when they are due
• Use the integrated grade book to enter grades as you go and track the progress of your entire class at a glance
• Use the single-student view to offer private and individual attention for quick check-ins or parent-teacher conferences
• Answer individual questions in one-on-one chats or start debates with the entire class using group discussions
• Keep students in the loop and prepared for class with notifications
• Teachers affiliated with qualified institutions can publish courses to the iTunes U catalog to make them available everyone for free. 


For Students:
• See your assignments and instructor updates in one place, and check off assignments as you complete them
• Submit your work from any Apple creativity app, dozens of third-party apps, or as annotated PDFs for private courses
• Ask instructors questions or have them review your work outside of class time with one-to-one discussions
• Start or join in on group discussions with the whole class
• See your graded results for all past assignments

What's New In This Version:
This update includes the following features:
• Students can hand in their homework assignments
• Annotate PDF assignments directly in iTunes U
• Instructors can grade and track student progress with an integrated grade book
• Private one-on-one conversations between students and instructors 
• Include multiple attachments per assignment

You can download iTunes U from the App Store for free.

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