See a quick Comparison Matrix. The matrix will give you full details of each.  For a brief synopsis, read on.

The USD Podcasting Server

The USD podcasting server is our ‘in-house’ location for publishing podcasts.  The professor is in full control of what s/he uploads and when and can choose to publish the link to a single file, his or her/entire library or a ‘channel’ which could be just one topic or a course.  You may then take these links and place them on your own web site, email them to students or create a web link within a CE course. Files must be in Mp3, Mp4 or pdf.

The USD Streaming Server

The USD streaming server is our ‘in-house’ location for streaming media and is the most secure of all the publishing options as the presentation is streamed, rather than downloaded as a file.  Another feature of the streamer is that you may use multiple file formats as opposed to Mp4 and Mp3.

The professor is in full control of what and when s/he uploads and can choose to publish the link to a single stream.  You can take these links and place them on your own web site, email them to students or create a web link within a CE course.

USD iTunes University

Perhaps the greatest advantage of the iTunes U is that it can be made public to the world, or to just people at the USD.  Subject areas, courses and advanced search functions all lend ease of use and attractive design for this option.  As well, professors who request iTunes U courses can also request a student ‘drop box’ be created within the course for students to upload their own casts.

While the benefits of iTunes U are many, there is less instructor control.  Files to be made public on the iTunes U site need to be approved and uploaded through the respective department.  Contact your department for details. Files must be in Mp3, Mp4 or pdf.

WebCT/Blackboard

As indicated above, you may choose to upload podcasts to iTunes U or the Podcast server and then link them onto your CE course. You may also choose to upload the files directly to your CE course File Manager as opposed to placing them on another server or streamer outside of the course. Students would then download the files to their computers which would take some time.

See a quick Comparison Matrix