E books for teaching and learning ss

Editor's Notes

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• #6: Features and key facts about e-books to support teaching and learning Although there are a vast array of e-books and means with which to view them, there are a number of commonalities and considerations worth highlighting: Access 24/7 - e-books potentially remove limited access issues to key texts that can be a major problem for print books as they are available 24/7- good for part time and distance learners to access remotely E-books are easier to locate in comparison to hard copy books Many institution library catalogues now offer e-book versions of some of their titles and journals and e-books open the door for a much greater range of books than the library could physically manage E-books can support in-class information retrieval by broadening the learning resource range E-books support accessibility in terms of being an alternative to print books and they have accessible aids to improve readability e.g. changing text size and contrast Flexible delivery – e-books can be located (via hyperlinking) in many places such as course materials and the VLE, offering access at appropriate points Teachers can produce their own e-books as learning resources E-books can work on desktop computers and mobile devices – note that many devices are included in the 'mobile' category e.g. laptops, mobile phones and dedicated e-book readers such as the Kindle. For clarity devices like the Kindle are normally identified as 'dedicated e-book readers'. Usage can be tracked which helps catalogue managers manage expectations and resources such as which books to buy, license or remove Portable – many e-books can be stored on a single device and taken with the owner or borrower which further supports access Hyperlinking within an e-book can increase the flexibility of topics covered from one source E-books may be one solution to support an institutional 'green ICT' strategy May 3, 2012
• #7: Copy and Paste E-books enable users to copy and paste pieces of text, and images into their own documents, which can save time, improve efficiency and accuracy of information. The Ebrary platform allows copy and paste with automatic citation. Accessibility Digital materials e.g. e-books delivered through a learning platform/Virtual Learning Environments can be far more accessible to blind and visually impaired (VI) students than hard copy, unmanipulable equivalents, e.g. handouts. There is a range of assistive technologies such as screen readers, and the Ebrary platform is compatible with screen reader technologies including DAISY and JAWS. In addition, the Ebrary user interface has integrated text to speech functionality. May 3, 2012
• #8: As you might expect, text is the dominant factor in an e-book. However, digital media can often be used too, depending on the e-book file format and target device. In addition to text, digital media use may include: Cover image (often also re-used for thumbnails) Illustrations (diagrams and decoration) Audio for 'text to speech' - normally an e-book reader feature Audio books – audio versions that can use a range of voices and languages Video – used much like images to provide additional context or advertising The suitability of different types of digital media, format and sizing again depends on which target file format(s) and device(s) are being supported. e.g. i-books author allows importing of multimedia Digital images are well supported across e-book readers of all types. However regarding audio and video, at the time of writing in 2011, it is only recent mobile devices that provide good support for using audio and video within an e-book. May 3, 2012
• #9: 1 copy available to many e.g. course text book for 60 students (cost savings) May 3, 2012
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• #12: Examples of e-book stores and repositories E-books for FE Project (free) Provides access to a core collection of e-books aimed at the FE community. JISC Collections (paid and free) A membership organisation that supports the provision of digital content for education and research in the UK. Project Gutenberg (free) Project Gutenberg is the place where you can download over 33,000 free ebooks to read on your PC, iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, iPhone, Android or other portable device. Google Books (paid and free) Provides access to millions of free and public domain Google eBooks. Each major mobile operating system has its own native app store that will allow you to view and/or purchase/download e-book apps and e-books. Examples of app stores are: Apple app store Amazon ebooks Android Market May 3, 2012
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• #14: Libraries have a big challenge in providing clear access routes to e-content. Discovery needs to be made a simple as possible About 3000 e-book titles are available free of charge to every FE college in the UK, under unlimited concurrent access. Unlimited, simultaneous user access means that unlike the print world students do not have to wait for the hard copies to be returned by other students or borrow under short loan conditions. The e-books are available under the terms of the JISC model licence e.g. Staff and students can incorporate parts in teaching learning materials whether electronic or paper. This includes course packs, presentations, VLEs, mobile devices, project work and much more. The e-books in the collection are hosted via the ebrary e-books platform Automatic citation – You can cut and paste the link into your VLE so it takes the user straight to the information they need. The e-books are available under the terms of the JISC model licence so you can cut and paste, print and use parts of the books in your VLE’s, coursepacks, presentations and more to support teaching and learning. COUNTER usage statistics via your admin portal Pricing for titles is offered under unlimited, simultaneous user access, meaning that an unlimited number of users can use the same title as the same time, ideal when teaching in a classroom situation. All of the titles are offered in perpetuity meaning that you will have access to these titles through the e-books for FE licence through to 31st August 2014, after this date, e-books within the collection will be available after this date but an access fee may apply. Alternatively colleges will be able to request an archive of the full text of the book title(s) purchased, without further charge. The archive will be supplied to colleges in an electronic medium mutually agreed between the ebrary and JISC Collections. Continuing archival access and use will be subject to the terms and conditions of the e-books for FE Sub-Licence Agreement . Anthony Beal, Section Leader for Learning Resources at West Cheshire College describes the impact of the ‘e-books for FE’ project on the way students on the Public Services course engaged with text books. “ There are key parts of the core textbook that are critical for the course but the physical copies would be out on loan, reference copies would be stolen and even when they got hold of the textbook, many learners lacked confidence in effectively using tables of content and indexes. Since using the e-book system we’ve had up to 2,000 hits a month; a huge increase from the 20 physical copies the library used to hold. The students are much more confident in finding information they need in electronic format; the e-book platform has significantly reduced barriers to engagement.” 4 minute vimeo video with 3 practical applications linked to Moodle Links on Moodle e-books course for how to import e-books collections into ebrary and Heritage. Also Heritage plugin for Moodle May 3, 2012
• #15: Why aren’t students using e-books? Mindshift , Nov 7 Some speculation on reasons why students aren’t using e-books following a survey by the library e-book provider eBrary , which found that students’ e-book usage has not increased significantly in the past 3 years, although consumer e-book sales are up 160%. However, according to the eBrary survey, “ the vast majority of students would choose electronic over print if it were available and if better tools along with fewer restrictions were offered .” The article provides a number of reasons for student resistance to e-books. Underneath all the reasons though is the failure of the commercial publishing industry to redesign to the needs of digital learning and their fear of losing what has been a very lucrative business model. It’s just a matter of time before someone comes up with a better, alternative model that will eventually destroy the current publishing model, which I give five years at most. May 3, 2012
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• #19: Nearly all ebook sites offer a mix of for-pay commercial content and out-of-copyright, free ebooks. Many devices come pre-loaded with perennial favorites such as Pride and Prejudice or David Copperfield . Nearly all such free ebooks (and many dubiously re-branded public domain ebooks put up for sale) are derived from Project Gutenberg, founded in 1971 by Michael Hart. Project Gutenberg, the work of thousands of volunteers, has much to teach about the capacity for collaborative transcribing, proofing, and formatting. May 3, 2012
• #20: There is a variety of ebook reader software available for the iPhone and iPod touch, with a large range of texts on offer. The ability to read books at a convenient time and place, and add books, both commercial and freely available, while ‘on the go’ can be very useful. The most suitable application will depend largely on the requirements of the individual user, but the range of usability and accessibility features available means that most users will find an application to suit them and be able benefit from the convenience offered by ebooks. I’ve listed readers for Apple devices which are also available for Androids May 3, 2012
• #21: Potential for e.g English teacher to have classics and Shakespeare resources available on laptops/learners own devices to use in/out of class Collaboration on texts using e.g conceptboard/crocodoc/titan pad Accessibility options on Smartphone to change background and text colours, font size and style, Students walking away from a lesson can carry the entire set of notes for that session on their phone for use in the library learning space via the Wattpad.com application (this allows free eBooks to be created by cutting and pasting from Word and works on all smart phone platforms). Wattpad - Simple Mobile eBook Creation Tool Try going to wattpad.com and search for PTLLS Word of caution – some racy publications – e-safety issues? Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) and learning objects Many students and teachers gain access to electronic resources through virtual learning environments ( VLEs , which have been adopted by many colleges and universities across the UK to enhance learners’ teaching and learning experience. Links to e-books from VLE’s and learning objects, for example through course reading lists are an effective way of encouraging usage. The licensing terms allow students and teachers to cut and paste parts into the VLE, however insitutions who wish to track usage of e-book parts may wish to embed links. May 3, 2012
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• #23: Try going to wattpad.com and search for PTLLS or mobile nuggets May 3, 2012
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