Anyone interested in learning how to create apps for the iPhone (News - Alert) and iPad can now get a head start through a series of online classes from Stanford University.

Offered through the free and always fantastic resource iTunes University, the classes have taken live lectures and course material and made them available through iTunes. So anyone who’s installed iTunes and has an Apple (News - Alert) ID can grab the classes for free.

The classes specifically focus on how to work with the tools needed to build iPhone and iPad apps using Apple’s Software Developer Kit and cover specific topics, such as animation, Apple’s Bonjour networking, and power management. The latest course material has also been updated for iOS 5.

The classes do require a programming background so, unfortunately, novices are out of luck. The perequisites include C language and some programming experience, while working with UNIX and object-oriented programming is recommended. On the bright side, two of Stanford’s prerequisite courses – Programming Methodology and Programming Abstractions – are both available via iTunes U.

The description notes that new lectures are posted three times a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As with an iTunes University content, you can subscribe to the course and automatically receive the new lectures as they come online.

An article from Stanford University sheds more light on the new courses and the professor who offers them.

In my opinion, iTunes U has always been one of the best features of iTunes. The range and depth of material available for free is incredible when you consider just how much you can learn. I teach a course on how to use the iPad and iTunes, and my students are always amazed when I show them what they can find for free.

Those of you who haven’t yet delved deeply into the world of iTunes U should check out the variety of content available, whether you’re looking to develop iPhone apps or brush up on just about any other topic you can think of.