Columbia University - iTunes U

To add an RSS feed into iTunes U, the XML must be formatted in a way in which the information within it can be interpreted by the iTunes application.

A podcast RSS feed is divided in two parts all contained within a "channel" tag. First part is the general podcast information or channel information. This is then followed by the episode information. Each episode information is enclosed within an "item". You can have many items per podcast. Below are the recommended settings to the RSS feed for CCNMTL podcasts.

iTunes extensions must be used within your RSS code so that iTunes can recognize the appropriate metadata within the feed. Here is a breakdown of the the important XML tags and iTunes extensions that are used within a podcast XML file:

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" version="2.0">

• Header for podcast RSS feed that include the iTunes extensions. The iTunes extensions are invalid if the header is not as exactly as above.

 <title>The Riverside Tour</title>

• The title of the podcast or channel. Use a descriptive title. No need to include the word podcast in title. Appears in the name column of iTunes.

 <link>[valid url to web page related to podcast]</link>
 

• The URL to the related web page. In iTunes, the link is the arrow in Name column.

 <itunes:author>Columbia University</itunes:author>

• The podcasts should come from the institution.

 <description> </description> 

• A general description of the podcast content.

 <itunes:summary></itunes:summary>

• Same as the description tag. Shown when the circled "i" in the Description column is selected.

 <itunes:subtitle></itunes:subtitle>

• A shorter description of the podcast. Appears in the Description column of iTunes. The subtitle displays best if it is only a few words long.

 <copyright>2006 </copyright>

• The year of the event and any other copyright details.

 <itunes:owner>
 <itunes:name>CCNMTL, Columbia University </itunes:name>
 <itunes:email>ccnmtl@columbia.edu </itunes:email>
 </itunes:owner>

• Give the podcast information for who owns it and the email associated with that ownership. This information is not visible, but is used for contact.

 <image>
 <url>http://riverside.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/images/logo_144.jpg</url>
 <title>The Riverside Tour</title>
 <link>http://riverside.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/</link>
 <width>144</width>
 <height>144</height>
 </image>

• Link and information on podcast image thumbnail. Max width is 300.

Sample RSS Feed (with iTunes extensions)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" version="2.0">
   <channel>
      <title>The Riverside Tour</title>
      <link>http://riverside.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/</link>
      <itunes:author>Columbia University</itunes:author>
      <description></description>
      <itunes:subtitle></itunes:subtitle>

      <language>en</language>
      <copyright>Copyright 2006 Trustees of Columbia University</copyright>
      <itunes:owner>
	<itunes:name>CCNMTL, Columbia University</itunes:name>
	<itunes:email>ccnmtl@columbia.edu</itunes:email>
      </itunes:owner>

      <image>
        <url>http://riverside.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/images/logo_144.jpg</url>
	 <title>The Riverside Tour</title>
	   <link>http://riverside.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/</link>
	   <width>144</width>
	   <height>144</height>
      </image>

    <itunes:image href="http://riverside.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/images/logo.jpg" />
    <category>Higher Education</category>
    <itunes:category text="Education">
      <itunes:category text="Higher Education" />
    </itunes:category>
    <itunes:keywords>Columbia University, CCNMTL, Riverside</itunes:keywords>
    <itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit>

    <lastBuildDate>Fri, 15 Dec 2006 12:00:00 -0500</lastBuildDate>
    <generator>http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2</generator>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs> 


    <item>
      <title>A Walk in the Park</title>
      <itunes:author>Columbia University</itunes:author>
      <description></description>

      <link>http://riverside.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/walk_park.html</link>
      <guid>http://riverside.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/walk_park.html</guid>
      <category>Higher Education</category>
      <pubDate>Thu, 02 Nov 2006 00:00:53 -0500</pubDate>
      <enclosure url="http://riverside.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/walk_park.m4a" type="audio/mov" />
    </item>
           
   </channel>
</rss>

After the RSS feed has been prepared, checking the validity of your XML is a must. Check your feed using: http://www.feedvalidator.org/.

Additional information is found on the Apple web site here: http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcaststechspecs.html.