elikness

Q: iTunes U site listing in the iTunes Store

I was under the imporession that Apple required Universities to apply to be included in the iTunes store listing for the iTunes U site Apple currently hosts in their data centers. I know the requirements were pretty stringent, and some schools who have an iTunes U presence, still don't meet the requirements to be included in the online catalog of the iTunes store. Is it really difficult to meet the requirements to publish the site publicly so it appears in the iTunes store itself?

 

From the iTunes U Adminstrator documents I found this today:

 

https://sitemanager.itunes.apple.com/help/index.html#itu8193CF6E-8AC7-4F45-8B11- 6D27C6251C90

 

Publish your site to make your content live in the iTunes U catalog and visible to the public. Publishing affects all pages listed in the publish manager page.

Updates you make to your site are not live in the iTunes U catalog until you publish your changes using the publish manager page, enabling you to stage and preview your updates before they are live to your users.

HideTo publish your site:

  1. Click Publish at the top of iTunes U Public Site Manager.

Posted on Mar 4, 2014 9:38 AM

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Q: iTunes U site listing in the iTunes Store

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  • by Aiden Tozer,

    Aiden Tozer Aiden Tozer Mar 4, 2014 7:53 PM in response to elikness
    Level 1 (75 points)
    Mar 4, 2014 7:53 PM in response to elikness

    Apple no longer does site reviews. They stopped doing them around 2010. Per the documentation, you can publish your site publically through iTunes U Public Site Manager whenever you desire.

     

    In the very early days of the iTunes U section of the iTunes Store, Apple did review institutions sites as they requesed to publish them publically.

     

    The focus of these reviews was to ensure the content and site organization would provide a high quality experience for learners around the world and the the institition itself would make the best first impression when going live. Often the review would uncover best-practices which the institutions could easily impliment to make their launch stronger.

     

    As time passed and the number of public instititutions grew there were a sufficent number of high-quality example sites that were live and the expectation of quality was established.

  • by elikness,

    elikness elikness Mar 4, 2014 8:16 PM in response to Aiden Tozer
    Level 4 (2,643 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 4, 2014 8:16 PM in response to Aiden Tozer

    The administration interface I have is not through the iTunes U Site Manager web-app but the admin URL that launches the iTunes app. I don't see a publish button in my version of iTunes/Admin interface. Is it the case you are only given the option of publishing if your site can be administered through the iTunes U Site Manager?

     

    I tried logging into Site Manager's website, but my AppleID and password were refused. It's as if it's a completely seperate site from the iTunes U admin URL we were given originally back in 2009 to administer the site through the iTunes app itself. Any thoughts on how I can publish the site without access to Site Manager?

     

    Do I need my site moved into or somehow wired up to Site Manager?

  • by Aiden Tozer,Solvedanswer

    Aiden Tozer Aiden Tozer Mar 4, 2014 8:51 PM in response to elikness
    Level 1 (75 points)
    Mar 4, 2014 8:51 PM in response to elikness

    Yes, it sounds like you are using the original iTunes U tools. You can request that Apple create an iTunes U Public Site Manager account for your institution by submitting a support form.

     

    That original site was used for both private and public content up until the time that Apple released iTunes U Public Site Manager (iTUPSM). iTUPSM was created as the dedicated tool for managing public sites and the original tool was from then on to be used for private sites.

     

    These private sites have become a bit of a legacy as Apple has been focusing on iTunes U Course Manager (the tool used by faculty to create courses which can be public or private through a managed roster) and iTunes U Public Site Manager.

  • by elikness,

    elikness elikness Mar 6, 2014 8:08 AM in response to Aiden Tozer
    Level 4 (2,643 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 6, 2014 8:08 AM in response to Aiden Tozer

    Thanks Aiden, that explains a lot. I don't know how I missed this. But I'm on board fully with this change. And will be talking direct with an iTunes U/Education support engineer today. So we'll see what happens and go from there.