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Books Without Boundaries
Possible Benefits & Problems of multi-platform publishing
Philip Wane School of Social Sciences
Do you author “books”?
• A book is a set of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of ink, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page. A book produced in electronic form is known as an electronic book (e-book).
• Many course materials are de facto books
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book
If creating de facto e-books…
• Like proper books you want them to be read
• Once upon a time paper handouts
• Then move to paper handouts + e-copies
• Increasingly electronic only (e-copies)
• Often Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF
• Often static text heavy documents (books)
• Often in a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
Encouraging engagement?
• Questions? Are students likely to prefer:
• Reading large chunks of text on a screen
• Reading small chunks of text on a screen
• Enjoy looking at static documents
• Enjoy looking at more interactive documents
• Prefer reading stuff sat at a desktop computer
• Prefer reading stuff via mobile devices
E-books?
• Electronic books (Word, PDF & “proper” e-books)
• Engaging Enriched Enterprising books
• Best course materials no good if not read
• Electronic books offer options for – Increased interaction
– Editorial engagement (revision notes)
– Friendlier formats
– Lower costs
– Higher convenience
How?
• Make more of what you’ve got (Word & PDF)
• Break free from the VLE
• with services like ISSUU
• Most students love their mobile devices
• These are also great educational engines
• By design (like the iPad & eBook Readers)
• Or by good luck – mobile phones, iPods etc
Making more of Word & PDF
• Make more of what you’ve got
• Microsoft Word & Adobe PDF come with tools
• Show or remind students about these – Search contents
– Highlight text
– Add notes
– Track changes
– Share comments
– All great for study & revision (often overlooked?)
Microsoft Word Tools
Excerpt from Mod Doc
Excerpt from Mod Doc with Comments
Useful (free) Adobe Reader Tools
Escape from the VLE?
• Some great “publishing” services
• Re-present basic Word & PDF documents
• Many such services
• Ideal for computer based reading
• I use Issuu
• Easy to search for other uploads
• For example JISC Reports on Issuu
Web 2.0 Services such as Issuu
People read on the move
• Think of commuters who read
– Books, Papers & Magazines (+ work stuff)
• They read things on their
– Mobile Phones
– E-Readers
– iPads (& other tablets)
– Laptop computers
• If commuters can do it so can we in education
Fifty Shades?
Range of eBook Readers
• Dedicated readers such as
– Sony eBook
– Kindle
– Kobo
• De facto readers such as
– Smart phones
– iPads & other tablets
– Laptops & Desktops
Kindle
Upwardly Mobile?
• If our students are mobile consumers
• Should we not give them this option
• Create copies of course documents for mobile
• There are dedicated formats & devices
• Popular formats like Word & PDF also work
• Options to convert to ePub & other standards
• Apple’s iBooks anyone?
Open Educational Resources (OER)
• eBooks part of wider OER movement
• Option to licence under Creative Commons
• Some issues to be noted
– Option to simply distribute unlicenced
– Some platforms (Apple) licence issues
– Okay if free but issues if selling
– Needs to be addressed by institutions
– Plus copyright issues around sourced contents
Become an Editor as well as an Author
• Wikipedia provides a tool for creating books
• You can be the editor of a collection of articles
• All for free
• Copyright cleared
• Electronic or printed
• Want to know more?
What are Wikibooks?
• Books that can be created from Wikipedia
Wikipedia Book Creator
• Easy creation of Wikibooks
• Create electronic books in minutes*
• Popular formats including Adobe PDF files • *Real-time creation of a Wikibook in 4 minutes (& other videos) via Phil
Why might educators use them?
1. Free
2. Credible
3. Copyright cleared
• Furthermore…
• Customisable
• Easy to update and/or edit
• Wikibooks* are custom collections of articles • *Wikipedia Book Creations
Why might educators use them?
• Whatever other reasons (as per previous slide)
• Improve the educational experience
• Enhance the learning process
• Supply structured selections
• Complement other course materials
• Great for educators in widest sense
• Parents, peers & other de facto pedagogues
Examples of Actual Use
• Used to complement module materials
• E.g. PowerPoint, Word & Wikibook
Sample Table of Contents
Ideal in electronic or printed formats
So…
• Whilst observing the CC licence
• Quick to create
• Easy to re-edit
• Easily tailored to learning & teaching
• Electronic and/or printed formats
• Complements “core” materials
• Potential to become core materials
Wikipedia Book Creator
• Outputs in PDF or ODF format by default
• Update late September 2012 + ePub format
• Suitable for VLEs etc or printing for classes
• But is it really a book? Reminder… • A book is a set of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made
of ink, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page. A book produced in electronic form is known as an electronic book (e-book).
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book
Wikibooks from Pedia Press
Creative Commons + Print on Demand
Foreword from the Future?
Phil at EduWiki 2012
Thank you!
• Questions?
• These slides are available
• See short videos about Wikibooks
• http://www.philwane.com/wikibook.html
• Kindle & iBook Guides coming shortly…
• Please feel free to contact me at
• Phone 0115 848 5587