The ability to store content on Apple servers was available to public and private sites. I don't think that that is a defining feature of a private site. A public site, as we at CUNY understand it, is a site where all content is freely available to the general public without requiring a specific log-on requirement controlled by a college or university, whether such content is stored on Apple servers or a college, university or cultural institution. A private site is one where content is not freely accessible to the general public, Such sites are typically linked to an institution's LMS (where the iTunes U course is linked to and accessed via an LMS course), or though some other identity management system controlled by the college,university or cultiural instituion. At least that is/was our understanding. However, at some point Apple no longer no longer provided storage on Apple's servers, although institutions that had previously signed agreements where such storage was provided, were grandfathered in and continue to enjoy this facility.to this day (May, 2012). iTunes U structures and development platforms appear to be in a state of flux. With the introduction of Public Content Manager, the development environment of public sites (which had been essentially the same as that for private sites) the development platforms of public and private iTunes U sites began to diverge. We have been led to believe that there are more changes afoot and that the Public Content Manager platform will at some point be the platform of choice for developing what had been considered private iTunes U sites. There is much that will be confusing to those of us who have learned to understand and who have become "comfortable" with the private site infrastructure, access methods and development platform. Indeed, there seems to be a notion that the current iTunes U state of flux makes room for 3 distinct site types, at least on an interim basis: private (old dev platform), private, (content manager platform) and prubli (Public Content Manager platform). Apple needs to ensure that current private site users fully understand how things will change and how existing access controls can be maintained for private iTunes U sites or content. Right now from what I see such information is not there yet.
