MediaSchool — which offers courses in digital video production, digital audio production, Web authoring, eJournalism and new media — is a branch of R/com Networks. The company also designed the Web portal and online learning environment of the International Music Products Association. And the folks at R/com Networks use QuickTime exclusively to produce their content.
“Mac OS X represents a significant step forward for Apple and for Mac developers around the world,” said MediaSchool creator and R/com Networks’ CEO David Barrett. “In the 15 years that we’ve worked with Apple, we believe Mac OS X represents the greatest possible opportunity for powerful new applications in a variety of markets.”
The full-length classes are priced between US $100 and $500 with discounts of up to 50 percent for Apple Developer Connection (ADC) members. ADC members can log on to the ADC Web site (http://www.apple.com/developer) and link to MediaSchool right from their account for quick access to discounted classes.
“With the power and stability of UNIX married to the Mac’s elegance and usability, Mac OS X offers application developers the most advanced operating system ever to work with,” said Ron Okamoto, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “We are delighted to collaborate with R/com to deliver a high-quality, web-based training program and arm developers with the knowledge to create compelling applications on Mac OS X.”
A free two-hour virtual seminar is available now to introduce Apple’s next generation operating system and explain the various authoring environments available to Mac OS X application developers. Full-length, 20-40 hour courses will be released in sequence during the coming months.
“The ADC entry point to the MediaSchool campus will include Mac OS X news clips and profiles of developers,” said Barrett. “It is a separate and unique entry point, exclusively for ADC members. Access to the Mac OS X courses is not exclusive and anyone may enroll and take the courses.”
The track of Mac OS X courses will cover everything from Carbon application development within the new operating system to authoring Mac OS X applications in Cocoa and Java. The classes will also highlight the Aqua user interface protocols, the 3D graphics capabilities with OpenGL and the Darwin kernel. Complete details can be found in the course catalog at MediaSchool.
“The classes are designed to be taken individually or as an entire course of study,” said M. H. Cameron, R/com Networks’ vice president of education. “I think the most exciting thing about the courses is that they walk students through application development. So a student that finishes many of these classes will have working applications they can place in their portfolio.”
There is also a Mac OS X seminar for consumers. It, too, is available at no charge during the month of June.