As the summer ends and the back-to-school sales start haunting your shopping centers, ease into the academic season with some free educational podcasts.
The iTunes U app gives you access to courses from universities and learning centers around the world, ranging from Stanford to Yale to MoMA to the New York Public Library. According to its website, iTunes U is the largest database of educational material on the web.
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If every display of school supplies you see makes you nostalgic for your grade school or college years, iTunes U may fill your thirst for the classroom.
Here are our picks for the 10 best courses from the iTunes U education arsenal.
1. Calculus
The Ohio State University's intro to Calculus course is extremely easy to follow and is an exceptional course for Calculus beginners. The video lectures are clear and easy to follow, and professor Jim Fowler does an excellent job making a hard-to-grasp topic easy to process for newbies.
2. World History
Exploring the Past is an educational video series by National Geographic that follows scientists and historians as they travel around the world. The user reactions to the videos have been overwhelmingly positive, and the videos make the lessons accessible to most ages.
3. Arabic Language
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4. Personal Finance
While this online course comes from Earlham High School, it teaches a life skill that many colleges fail to educate their students on: Personal Finance. This class teaches you how your personal financial choices influence your occupational goals and future earning potentials. This course is both lecture and video-based depending on the lesson, and teaches students about budgeting, checking and savings accounts, debt management and much more. One of the more endearing video-lessons is a student-made video about the life-cycle of a check.
5. Corporate Finance
NYU's Stern School of Business is renowned for its high price tag and rigorous coursework, but now you can benefit from the latter without having to pay the former. This Corporate Finance class is an introduction into the "bigger picture" of corporate finance.
6. Leadership
The TED Talks network released a video series via iTunes U called
7. Critical Analysis
According to Quora user Juan Goncalves, UC Berkeley's Rhetoric 10, "Introduction to Practical Reasoning and Critical Analysis of Argument," is an exceptional intro to critical analysis podcast.
8. Psychology
Yale's Open Course Psychology collection is a great choice if you're interested in learning more about psychology. Professor Paul Bloom is witty, engaging, and extremely knowledgable. His lectures are accessible for anyone, from 8th graders to graduate students, and his iTunes U reviews are positive across the board.
9. Art and Architecture
RMIT University's "Talking Design" class covers topics ranging from architecture to industrial design to fashion. Journalist Stephen Crafti hosts the podcast, featuring interviews with design professionals and expert design trend analysis.
10. Virtual Field Trips
Explore the Brooklyn Museum within the comfort of your own home through iTunes U's virtual field trips. In The Mummy Chamber Video series, you can explore the complex rituals of the Egyptian beliefs and glimpse the coffins in the virtual tour video.
Have you taken any standout courses from iTunes U? Let us know in the comments section below.