Figure 1 Student authored book

This blog post highlights the use of eBooks. EBooks can contain images, text, video, audio, maps, comics and narration. Media produced in other environments are easily embedded using embed code or by saving in another media format. For example, read our blog post on using green screens, these videos could be incorporated into eBook. You can even choose to input text by simply talking rather than typing.

Ebooks can be created by:

• the tutor for their students, e.g. study guides, handbooks, subject specific textbooks …
• students for other students e.g. projects, guides for future students, …
• students for an entirely different audience e.g. students creating children’s books. (Figure1)
• tutors and students collaborations e.g. post student conference proceedings or reflections (Figure 2)
• educators for other educators (Figure 3)

Figure 2

Figure 3

The example we are highlighting today is from a module delivered by Drs. Nicky Hirst and Catherine Wilkinson. The students in this Early Childhood Studies module have been producing both real books and virtual books for the last few years.

To relieve some of the issues previously encountered (mainly time constraints which affected the creation of real books), Nicky approached the TEL team to brainstorm some new ideas. Together we planned the use of Book Creator software, a free or paid for subscription for an e book authoring environment which works on ipads (app or Safari browser) or the Chrome browser. The additional functionality of the library meant that we opted for the students to create their books using computers and the Chrome browser app. (The development of the library function to include the ipad app is expected in the future.)

A free Book Creator account provides a library of up to 40 books, using a library permits the tutor to view the students’ books and provides the option to control if and when the students can see each other’s books. With a cohort size of 60+ students both Nicky and Catherine set up a library each and the students were split into two groups.

Two examples of the books created by students in this module are shown in figures 1 and 4. The students created their books in a workshop session preceded by a very short tutorial on how to author in Book Creator with additional resources in Canvas. The task was embedded into the module with the writing of a rational for their book being part of the summative assessment of the module. Book Creator is versatile, very easy to use, can be used individually or collaboratively and produces outputs that are web accessible, downloadable and printable. An added bonus is that the books are publishable and can lead to being read by a much wider audience. (See this case study including iTunesU) In the future the student books from the module will be combined into one larger book which could also include the rationales for each book with a view to opening up this book to a wider audience.

Figure 4

Although this particular sharing practice blog highlights the use of eBooks with level 4 undergraduate students, eBook authoring is a very versatile skill that can have applications at all levels of study. Read this eBook created to inspire Secondary Teachers to provide opportunities for students to author eBooks. Figure 5 is a screen shot of the page about using Book Creator as an Assessment tool.

Figure 5

Further reading

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/21532974.2014.891876?needAccess=true

Digital Didactical Designs: Teachers’ Integration of iPads for Learning-Centered Processes

Case 1 uses Book Creator