Apple on Thursday launched a significant upgrade to iTunes U, says a report from Re/code. The update is designed to improve the tools that allow teachers to interact with students, better incorporate educational apps in their course materials, and easily manage homework assignments.
![Apple Updates iTunes U - Offers New Tools for Students and Teachers Apple Updates iTunes U - Offers New Tools for Students and Teachers](http://www.mactrast.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/iTunes_U_2015.jpg)
The latest version of Apple’s educational software will allow students to turn in their homework directly from their iPads, and the documents will carry a timestamp indicating when the homework, term paper, reports, or other work was turned in. A teacher can be alerted when a student’s work has been submitted and is ready for review, and will also be alerted if a reminder needs to be sent for past due work.
Teachers will also be able to import popular educational apps into their course materials, including Apple’s own software, as well as a number of third-party apps such as Stop Motion Studio. iTunes U also includes new discussion features, allowing better communication between teachers and their students.
First debuting in 2007, iTunes U has evolved from a repository in iTunes for university video lectures into the present day suite of apps and content used by students and teachers around the globe.