Potential of EPUB3 for Digital Textbooks in Higher Education

The e-book market is currently in a strong upswing. This research study deals with the question which practical uses the e-book format EPUB3 offers for (higher) education. By means of a didactic content analysis, a range of interactive exercise types were developed as a result of conversations with teachers. For this purpose, a didactic and technical concept has been developed. Different kinds of exercises were prototypically implemented in an e-book. Finally, a brief overview reflects the present state of the current e-book readers. A subsequent discussion illuminates the strengths and weaknesses of the format. In summary, it can be remarked that EPUB3 is suitable for a variety of different exercises and that it is able to serve as a basic format for forthcoming digital textbooks. Furthermore the openness of EPUB3 will assist Open Learning and Teaching in a meaningful way.Comment: Conference, 13 page

Are Books Becoming Extinct in Academic Libraries?

Purpose: Academic librarians who are planning for the future need to be knowledgeable about the short- and long-range outlook for print. They must also consider what will happen if libraries abolish most or all of their books. Current and future academic e-book usage is explored, and ideas for response to collection changes are suggested. Design/methodology/approach: This article examines a wide range of studies and comments on this timely topic. Findings: The disparity between the reception of e-books in the general population and the adoption of them in the academic world suggests that print is still important to faculty and students. Given the advances in e-book technological, the increasing popularity of online/distance education courses, the adoption of the new EPUB 3 format, and the ubiquity of mobile devices, e-books are expected to increasingly replace print volumes in academic libraries. Originality/value: What has received little attention in the literature is the complexity of the issue of e-book reception in the academic world. This article looks at current and future e-book usage from the perspective of several large studies on diverse aspects of academic life, including students’ perceptions of libraries, their information-seeking behaviors, faculty research habits and information needs, students’ reading habits, and the impact of emerging technologies on teaching and learning. Providing insight into current and future academic e-book trends, this article suggests practical ways to respond to these trends

A design model proposal for digital learning platform based on interactive e-books

One of the most important factors in the successful results of electronic learning environments is the strengthening of student-content interaction. In creating this interaction structure, it is of great importance that the content used is interesting by the student. The digital transformation in the traditional publishing industry allows the use of electronic books in different formats. The possibilities brought by new technologies allow students to use Interactive Electronic Books (IEB) as an educational material, independent of time and place, through smart devices. The IEB is a program that can be accessed with new digital devices such as computers, tablets, smartphones, and students can use Augmented Reality (AR), 3D animation, video files, etc. It is a technology in which it is integrated with electronic media and technologies. The use of interactive e-books as an educational material can also enable instructors to monitor student activities on these books. This study has been developed to convey the design and development processes of IEB, AR applications in IEB and a simple LMS in which IEB can be integrated, which is thought to contribute to student-content interaction. In the study, first the theoretical approach of the integrated system, then the development processes of LMS, IEB and AR applications are presented within the framework of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) approach

Hybrid books for interactive digital storytelling : connecting story entities and emotions to smart environments

Nowadays, many people use e-books, having high expectations regarding their reading experience. In the case of digital storytelling, enhanced e-books can connect story entities and emotions to real-world elements. In this paper, we present the novel concept of a Hybrid Book, a generic Interactive Digital Narrative (IDN) artifact that requires seamless collaboration between content and smart devices. To that end, we extract data from a story and broadcast these data in RDF as Linked Data. Smart devices can then receive and process these data in order to execute corresponding actions. By following open standards, a Hybrid Book can also be seen as an interoperable and sustainable IDN artifact. Furthermore, according to our user-based evaluation, a Hybrid Book makes it possible to provide human sensible feedback while flipping pages, enabling a more enjoyable reading experience. Finally, the participants positive willingness to pay makes it possible to generate more revenue for publishers

The enhanced ebook: Its past, present, and future place in the North American publishing industry

The enhanced ebook format—an ebook featuring multimedia elements such as audio, video, and animations—was released in 2010, yet it has been largely unused. Despite its potential, only 23% of publishers in Canada produced an enhanced ebook each year between 2014 and 2017.1 The format can excel in the scholarly/professional, trade/consumer, and educational/K to 12 marketplaces; however, it is held back by the same hurdles that halted its progress in 2010. Poor retailer and device support, lack of classification and discoverability, slow consumer adoption, and caution from publishers to invest were, and still are, roadblocks that inhibit the enhanced ebook format from gaining popularity. In an effort to understand why the enhanced ebook format has not gained traction, this report will assess the enhanced ebook format, and its past, present, and future place in the North American publishing industry

Examination of the Transitioning of the Book from Print to Digital: Inspiration, Possibilities & Application

My principal research question is: what future/s might there be for the book as it shifts away from paper volumes and into an ebook protocol, as regards marginal epistemologies, inclusivity, multiple authors, interdisciplinarity and alternative narratives? My research takes the form of both a thesis and a research-creation EPUB3 ebook. I chose the subject of bees as the content of the book. This subject offered me both an alternative narrative and a way to showcase the capabilities of the EPUB. Working with disciplines of Design, Film and Computer Science, I traced a trajectory through the history of the printed book to the present day finding a natural place for the self-published ebook. The thesis speculates on the genesis of the ebook as a recuperative medium in the evolution of the knowledge commons. It navigates a path toward progressive accessibility standards coexisting with a visual design paradigm

Desarrollo de una herramienta para la edición digital de ficción interactiva mediante el paradigma de texto extensible

En la última década, el libro digital se ha convertido en una alternativa real al libro físico. Desde el punto de vista técnico, se han desarrollado diferentes especificaciones para crear libros digitales, así como herramientas de edición. Las posibilidades de interacción que ofrece un libro digital en comparación con un libro físico son importantes, dado que el escritor tiene potencialmente, todas las posibilidades que ofrecen las nuevas tecnologías. Sin embargo, la realidad es que la mayoría de los editores de libros digitales permiten implementar un número limitado de funciones en un libro digital, tales como buscar en un diccionario o realizar una anotación. Esta situación se debe en parte a las posibilidades de reproducción de los dispositivos de lectura (eReaders) que solo son capaces de ejecutar y procesar las funciones antes mencionadas, a las especificaciones de libros digitales que no contemplan otro tipo de acciones sobre un libro digital y a las propias herramientas de edición digital que están diseñadas para editar los libros digitales con las posibilidades comentadas anteriormente. Es por ello, que supone un gran reto el ampliar las posibilidades de interacción que se pueden implementar sobre un libro digital y de esta manera enriquecer la experiencia lectora. Este trabajo de investigación, se plantea en el contexto del reto comentado. Así, el objetivo que se quería cubrir en el trabajo consistía en investigar cómo ampliar las funcionalidades que tiene a su disposición un editor de libros digitales en las herramientas de edición, para enriquecer la interacción y la experiencia lectora. Con este fin, se ha realizado una labor de investigación para analizar qué tipo de necesidades de interacción podrían ser interesantes para un lector, qué tipo de tecnologías serían necesarias para su implementación y cómo se podrían adaptar para que fueran reproducibles con la tecnología actual de eReaders. Como resultado de este trabajo, se ha creado una herramienta de edición de libros digitales de tipo WYSIWYG denominada ILSAditor que facilita la creación de libros digitales en los que se pueden incluir algunos elementos orientados a enriquecer la experiencia del lector basados en las propuestas definidas en el ámbito de la ficción interactiva. La herramienta está diseñada de una forma muy intuitiva. Así, el escritor puede crear de una manera simple elementos de ficción interactiva, exportar texto interactivo a un formato orientado a la web (HTML5, JavaScript y CSS) u orientado a dispositivos electrónicos (EPUB). Los elementos de ficción interactiva soportados se circunscriben al uso de texto extensible (stretchtext), permitiendo al editor de un libro digital organizar el contenido del mismo en varias capas de profundización o itinerarios que pueden ser gestionados a través de la ocultación o develación del texto. Esto permite que el texto se adapte a los diferentes niveles de lectura o profundización. De esta forma, se podría crear, por ejemplo, un mismo cuento dirigido a diferentes edades o niveles de comprensión en un único libro digital, gestionando cada nivel del mismo mediante texto extensible. ILSAditor se ha desarrollado como una aplicación de escritorio basada en extender la funcionalidad del editor JavaScript TinyMCE, utilizando tecnología Java FX. El editor TinyMCE ha sido ampliamente utilizado en gestores de contenidos educativos como Moodle, sistemas de gestión de contenidos tan conocidos como Joomla o WordPress para soportar el paradigma de texto extensible de manera intuitiva y sencilla para los autores, y en aplicaciones como Evernote. La memoria de este trabajo fin de máster describe la versión actual de la herramienta desarrollada, el proceso de diseño y desarrollo seguido, y la evaluación preliminar de su usabilidad en una experiencia piloto