1. Making the most of e-books for
academic skills
Sean Dowling
Educational Technology Coordinator, HCT
2. About the presenter
• Worked in Japan, Germany, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and the
UAE;
• First 10 years as a software developer;
• Last 15 years in education;
• Alternated between EFL and Ed Tech over last 10 years.
3. Today’s webinar
• The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT)
• eBooks at HCT
• SAMR model (Puentedura, 2006)
• OUPs Bookshelf App and OUP eBooks
• Improvements
4. About the Higher Colleges of Technology
(HCT)
• Federal, third-level institution in the United Arab Emirates;
• 20,000 students spread over 17 campuses;
• Very heavy focus on technology
• All students have laptops;
• iPads in foundation programme and year 1;
• eBooks
5. Why e-books at HCT?
• develop and use media literacy skills;
• enhance teaching and learning;
• rich and improved reading experience;
• anytime, anywhere learning;
• sustainability and efficiency;
6. eBooks at HCT
• Pilot in 2012/13 academic year;
• 2013/14 academic year
•
•
•
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No paper-based textbooks;
150,000 eBooks purchased;
6 publisher platforms;
2 aggregators.
7. “Simply capitalizing on new technology is
not enough; the new [pedagogical] models
must use these tools and services to engage
students on a deeper level.”
(Horizon Report, 2013, p.9)
13. Augmentation Level – Functional Improvements
zoom feature - useful for students with visual impairments
embedded audio and video - students can listen/view multiple times
voice sticky note
table of contents, search and jump to quickly find and move to the
required page
type-in exercises with auto score
split screen capability to enable videos/texts to be viewed/read while
viewing the questions
advanced audio allows the audio speed to be adjusted, the audio to be
clipped into manageable pieces and for students to record and compare
their recording with the original
mail tool allows students to send a screenshot of type-in exercises to
teacher (or any email recipient)
web links - link to the Q Skills practice site
28. Modification and Redefinition
Some ideas
• Allow for social networking
• Facebook, Twitter or OUP course blogs;
• Use the computer/apps to expand on eBook
activities
29. References
• Johnson, L., Adams, S., and Cummins, M. (2012). The NMC
Horizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Edition. Austin, Texas:
The New Media Consortium. http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2012horizon-report-HE.pdf.
• Puentedura, R. (2006). Transformation, Technology, and
Education. Presentation given August 18, 2006 as part of the
Strengthening Your District Through Technology workshops,
Maine, US. http://hippasus.com/resources/tte/part1.html.
• Puentedura, R. (2011): Thinking About Change in Learning and
Technology. Presentation given September 25, 2012 at the 1st
Global Mobile Learning Conference, Al Ain, UAE.
http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/2012/04/10/iP
ad_Intro.pdf.