Stanford's Free iPhone Course Hits 1 Million Downloads

May 18, 2009 12:43 PM PDT

by Jim Dalrymple

 

Stanford University on Monday said its free iPhone Application Programming course has been downloaded more than 1 million times since being uploaded to Apple's iTunes U--a learning-focused area of iTunes--seven weeks ago.

 

The course is a series of classroom videos taken from the live lectures at Stanford. Apple engineers teach the course to students in an auditorium at Stanford's Quad--the videos are uploaded to iTunes U two days after every class, giving the public free access to the material. The university even makes copies of the slides shown during the class available to the public.

 

Jason Ediger, Apple's director of iTunes U and Mobile Learning, said this is the fastest any course hit the million download mark on iTunes U. Certainly a testament to the amount of interest from would-be iPhone developers

 

Apple currently has over 40,000 apps available for download from the App Store, according to numbers from 148 Apps, an enthusiast Web site that monitors the number of apps on the store.

 

iPhone Application Programming is a 10-week course and can be downloaded free from iTunes U. Only students enrolled in the classroom course will receive credit, according to the university.

 

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10243639-37.html

Posted via web from Human Capital

Leading with Emotional Intelligence

http://www.ispi-van.org/htm/e_spectrum/articles/members/cory_leading_w_ei.htm

The U.S. Engineering Gap

A recent article from Tech Careers (http://www.techcareers.com/) discusses the declining number of US engineering degrees being awarded.

“"The problems have taken root and they will be difficult to deal with," said Richard Heckel, founder and technical director of Engineering Trends, a consulting firm specializing in engineering education.”

”Small but steady declines in bachelor's degrees have occurred in the past three academic years. In 2004-05, some 76,632 engineering bachelor's degrees were awarded. In 2005-06, the number dropped slightly to 76,301. In 2006-07, it again decreased to 75,113.”

”Increases in undergraduate enrollment occurred in freshmen classes in fall 2006, but second-, third- and fourth-year enrollments declined. That means the pattern of slowly declining degree numbers should continue for another three or four years, Heckel said.”

“A reduced rate of doctoral degrees should begin next year and continue for at least three years, Heckel added.”

Certainly, a reduced rate of engineering graduates is not a good sign for companies competing to attract and keep talent, although in the short run, the government could reverse this scenario through immigration policy.

Of note, is the fact that the decline in the number of students begins in the 2^nd year of university, and continues thereafter. Isn’t it “normal” for there to be attrition for any degree granting program?

Is the modern engineering discipline no longer connecting with that particular subset of Gen Y that has a proclivity for the engineering discipline?

One wonders if this theme is likely to be repeated in other disciplines…

“Meanwhile, fewer available qualified engineers means more responsibility for the less-experienced, said Albert Helfrick, chair of electrical and systems engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, Fla.)”

”The population of experienced engineers is aging, he said. "There's a serious problem in our country with people like me: gray-haired people who could retire tomorrow," Helfrick said. If large numbers do retire, the U.S. faces a severe engineering shortfall.”

Perhaps we are beginning to see the tip of the scarce-talent iceberg…

http://www.techcareers.com/articles/i/ad3646/blogs/information-technology/us-engineering-gap-number-of-degrees-declining.htm

Don't Let Unemployment Deter Career Success

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120785342621805453.html?mod=CarJMain_topright