Presentation delivered as an online webinar and supported by additional resources on RSC East Midlands Moodle

1. E-books for teaching and learning
In Brief – Tuesday 1st May, 1.15 – 2 p.m.
With Lyn Lall, Steve Saffhill, Paul Miller (RSC Northern),
Grazyna Kuczera and Masniza Sore (Northampton College)
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www.jiscrsc.ac.uk/eastmidlands May 3, 2012 | slide 1
RSCs – Stimulating and supporting innovation in learning

2. Aims
 Understand the benefits of using e-books in
teaching and learning
 To be aware of:
– sources of free e-books
– JISC FE free e-books collection
 How to promote e-books and understand some of
the issues/barriers to using e-books
 Hear about the impact of a project using Kindle e-
book readers with adult learners to support literacy
 How to create simple e-books
 Where to get support to develop the use of e-books
May 3, 2012 | slide 2

3. What is your role?
A. Manager
B. Team leader
C. Teacher
D. Learning support
E. Business support
Lyn Lall May 3, 2012 | slide 3

4. How widely embedded is the use of e-books in the
curriculum in your organisation?
A. Widely used and embedded in the curriculum
B. Pockets of good practice in some curriculum
areas
C. Hardly used at all by learners and/or staff
May 3, 2012 | slide 4

5. Features and key facts about e-books
to support teaching and learning
 Access 24/7
 Flexible delivery
 E-books support accessibility
 Can work on a number of devices including mobile
devices, laptops, PCs and dedicated e-book readers
May 3, 2012 | slide 5

6.  Bookmarks and key word searches
 Portability
 Hyperlinking e.g. from VLE
 Copy and paste (with citation)
 E-books may be one solution to support an
institutional 'green ICT' strategy
May 3, 2012 | slide 6

7. E-books and multimedia
 Depending on the e-book file format and target
device, in addition to text, digital media use may
include:
– Audio for 'text to speech'
– Audio books
– Video
May 3, 2012 | slide 7

8. Advantages of e-books
 E-books can:
– Reduce costs (purchasing)
– Be sustainable
– Be personalised for reading/accessibility
 E-books can’t be:
– Overdue
– Lost
– Damaged/defaced
May 3, 2012 | slide 8

9. A few quotes from an LRC manager
“If a tutor wants the students to
look at a specific diagram in the e-
book, they can link directly to that
page. Some students may not be
able to find the diagram by
locating the page, so the e-books
really widen access for those who
struggle with traditional books.
May 3, 2012 | slide 9

10. “It can also be daunting for some students to
search for a book in the library, and some
learners don’t want to be seen reading a book
associated with their studies. With viewing a
book on a PC or mobile device, they could be
looking at anything. There’s a bit more
credibility for them and they are using
technology that they are used to on a daily
basis.”
May 3, 2012 | slide 10

11. Delivering e-books
 E-books can be distributed to desktop computers,
mobile devices and e-book readers in a number of
ways :
– E-book online stores, publishers, and repositories e.g.
Project Gutenburg (free), Google books, Apple, Amazon
– Simple download
– Apps e.g. Kindle, Stanza, e-reader
– E-mail
– Library e.g. JISC free e-books for FE collection
May 3, 2012 | slide 11

12. JISC E-books for FE Top 10 titles
May 3, 2012 | slide 12

13. JISC FE e-books collection
Worcester college looks at how e-books can be used
to support their teaching in:
BTEC National Diploma in Sports
Fitness
Travel and Tourism
http://vimeo.com/6592468
May 3, 2012 | slide 13

14. Why aren’t students using e-books?
 “the vast majority of students would choose
electronic over print if it were available and if
better tools along with fewer restrictions were
offered.” Ebrary survey (2011)
May 3, 2012 | slide 14

15. JISC FE e-books collection
Northampton College Library – how we promote
e-books:
 Induction
 Information & Study Skills
 Display
 Leaflets
 E-resources Review
 Library website
May 3, 2012 | slide 15

16. What are the barriers to using e-books
in your organisation?
 Either raise a hand to speak or type a response in
the chat pane
May 3, 2012 | slide 16

17. Potential barriers to using e-books
 Awareness raising of resources with
teaching staff and learners
 Accessing resources
 Induction/training to support
accessibility features and functionality
of e-books
 Infrastructure/firewall issues
 Authentication issues (Athens,
Shibboleth)
May 3, 2012 | slide 17

18. http://www.gutenberg.org
May 3, 2012 | slide 18

19. e-book reader apps
 Readers/Apps
– Stanza
– Kindle
– Kobo
– Ebook reader
– Google play books
– i-books
– Shakespeare in bits (ipad/pod/phone app)
May 3, 2012 | slide 19

20. Suggestions for use in teaching and
learning
 English teachers
– Shakespeare's works and out of copyright classics are
available free to download on to tablets/smartphones
 Opportunities for learner annotation and
collaboration
 Accessibility tools on e-reader apps on
Smartphones
 Link to e-books in your VLE courses e.g. via
course reading lists
 Make resources available on learners devices via
Wattpad
May 3, 2012 | slide 20

21. Kindle case study with Adult Literacy
students
RSC Northern initiated funded and supported an
action research project with Newcastle City Learning
(ACL) to:
investigate the effectiveness of e-book readers for
literacy learners.
explore the potential benefits and drawbacks of this
type of device.
Project outcomes are captured in this video from the
case study on the Excellence gateway
http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/node/20459
May 3, 2012 | slide 21

22. Wattpad – a simple e-book creation tool
Teachers
Go to Wattpad.com
Create an account
Click on upload
Create a new story (either cut and paste from Word
or use upload a .txt file
Add useful tags to help find your “story” later
Save and publish
Share with learners via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter,
Tumblr
May 3, 2012 | slide 22

23. Wattpad for learners
Learners
Search for Wattpad on your mobile phone app store
or market place
Set up link to your Wattpad account
Tell learners the tag to find your resources e.g
PTLLS
May 3, 2012 | slide 23

24. Creating your own e-books – convert
content from and to different formats
Calibre –http://calibre-ebook.com/ hard disk
•Input Formats: CBZ, CBR, CBC, CHM, DOC, DOCX, DJVU, EPUB, FB2, HTML,
HTMLZ, LIT, LRF, MOBI, ODT, PDF, PRC, PDB, PML, RB, RTF, SNB, TCR, TXT,
TXTZ
•Output Formats: EPUB, FB2, OEB, LIT, LRF, MOBI, HTMLZ, PDB, PML, RB,
PDF, RTF, SNB, TCR, TXT, TXTZ
2epub http://www.2epub.com/ web service
•Input formats: doc, docx, epub, fb2, html, lit, lrf, mobi, odt, pdb, pdf, prc,
rtf, txt.
•Output formats: epub, fb2, lit, lrf, mobi
i-books author
May 3, 2012 | slide 24

25. Next steps
 This session was delivered as an In Brief online
webinar. A recording of the session and additional
resources can be found at http://
moodle.rsc-em.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=233
 Link to Moodle resources on e-books and a
recording of the session will be sent by e-mail to
delegates
 For more information and support contact;
 Lynette.lall@rsc-em.ac.uk
Next In Brief - QR codes – 12th June
May 3, 2012 | slide 25