If you’ve ever had an idea for an iPhone application but you’ve never known how to begin creating it, Stanford will be offering how-to-build-iphone-apps computer science courses via free video podcasts through iTunes U. Later this week, you’ll be able to get a Stanford-level education without the stress of having to apply to the prestigious school and especially without having to pay tuition being a huge dbag. [Ed. note: Ed went to Cal.] [TechCrunch]
With mountains of cash on hand, Apple is broadening its horizons a little bit. The company is planning to start a creatively designated “Apple University,” following in the corporate educational footsteps of the likes of McDonald’s and Pixar. Though this will likely just be a training campus for Apple employees, they’ve already poached the dean of Yale’s management school to serve as VP of the operation. Why would someone like that leave such a prestigious position for a post as a corporate zombifier? Is it Steve Jobs’ revolutionary, all-in-one, totally-not-modular curriculum? Maybe. Ridiculous amounts of money? Definitely. [WSJ]
When I was studying at Uni, the Internet was just starting to gain traction. As a result, my favourite lectures were the ones that I didn’t have to attend because all the notes and transcripts were online.
Today, students from a heap of Unis around Australia and NZ get an even sweeter gig, with lectures, guest speeches and videos from The Australian National University, Griffith University, Swinburne University, University of Melbourne, University of NSW, University of WA and Otago University all hitting iTunes U.
So now a whole new breed of students get to enjoy their university bar rather than the boredom of their lectures. Maybe I should think about getting my Masters…
[Apple]
What do you do if you have a focus ion beam microscope normally used to make nano-devices, a scanning electron microscope and some spare time? Well, you etch your university logo onto a human hair, of course! At least, if you’re the Engineering Dept at McMaster University you do. It’s not the smallest logo ever— that’s an IBM one with 35 xenon atoms, I believe. But it’s possibly the ickiest, and it’s certainly high resolution. Impressive. We’ve only got one quibble: the uni logo, guys? I’m sure Giz readers would be more imaginative.
