Surely by now every individual who has access to digital technology knows what digital textbooks are. But there is still a need to further elaborate certain facts about e-textbooks, just to ensure that all those who are new to converting books to eBooks are on the same page.
Yes, there are some publishers out there who are yet to make the shift from print to digital. And for them, this blog is going to prove more than informative.
Here’s all that you need to know about digital textbooks:
What exactly is a digital textbook?
Well, for starters, it is a digital rendition of the print book. But, with more features. A digital textbook is more interactive and engaging. It is designed keeping the modern tech-savvy learners in mind.
To address their learning styles and needs, an e-textbook is usually designed with features that will help them learn better and engage more with the learning material.
This digital version of the textbook can contain videos, animations and audios which will aid the student’s learning process. Here are 8 Reasons to Create Interactive Textbooks for Engaging K-12 Students
Can students study better using digital textbooks?
Definitely. Each course module is designed and aligned on every page in a way that will keep the students engaged while learning.
With interactive features such as page scroll, annotations, bookmarks, highlights and so on, students do not need to look anywhere else for supplementary material. They can make notes for themselves and even share them with their peers or teachers. They can also bookmark pages for later reference.
Online custom assessments in the form of drag and drop, fill in the blanks, labelling, click and reveal, etc., are a great form of engagement that will help the students completely focus and take interest in their studies.
Moreover, with hyperlinks embedded into the content, they can look up for additional information if needed. A digital textbook thus acts as a wholesome learning package for a student. Learn more on are Digital Textbooks more Effective for K-12 Curriculum.
Guide:
How to Build an eBook Store
How does digital textbook help measure student engagement?
If you opt for an eBook platform that provides in-depth analytics, then you can get an accurate rate of student engagement.
An in-built analytical tool will give insights on the number of students who’ve read a chapter, amount of time spent on each module, average time spent on videos and so on.
These factors help in determining the engagement level of each student as well as the overall class, allowing teachers to change their teaching approach or redesign the course module, whichever seems necessary. Here are 5 Ways to Use Learning Analytics in K-12 Education.
Are digital textbooks cheaper?
They certainly are. With expenses like warehousing, transportation, printing and so on out of the picture, the costs involved in developing a digital textbook reduces drastically.
Various other factors also come into play which makes digital textbooks cheaper than their print counterparts. In spite of being less expensive than print, digital publishers can still keep their revenue streams flowing as the demand for digital over print is ever increasing.
Apart from the high demand aspect, publishers can also increase etextbook sales by selling the eBooks on a subscription basis, which will guarantee more buyers. Students anyway have no use of textbooks once their term is over; they usually resell their textbooks.
Although reselling is not possible with etextbooks, students are getting the books at a considerably lesser price in the first place- almost 40-50% cheaper than print books. This makes them opt for eBooks as they are convenient and feasible.
Are digital textbooks safe from piracy?
The content available on the internet is always at a risk of piracy. In order to protect online content, there is DRM protection. Digital Rights Management for eBooks allows only authorized users to make changes or download the content.
The users are given an access code which they have to enter while accessing the digital textbook. You can also set a time duration until which the access codes will be valid. Thus, your content stays safe from unauthorized use.
Here’s more on how to use Digital Textbooks in the classroom.
How to make digital textbooks?
An eBook creation platform is all you need to develop digital textbooks.
Choose a cloud-based digital publishing platform where you can upload your source files, design the layout, add enrichments, and then publish. The process is pretty much simple if you choose the right platform for the task.
Here’s a short breakdown of an eBook creation process:
- Upload the file – Upload the source file into the epublishing tool. The source file could be in the form of a PDF or text document.
- Convert to ePUB – The tool will convert the file to ePUB.
- Select layout – Decide whether you want a fixed or reflowable layout. Align the content as per requirement.
- Add enrichments – Add multimedia elements such as images, videos, audio, etc. to make the content interactive.
- Create a table of contents – Link each page to the table of contents.
- Add cover image – Select appropriate cover image for the thumbnail and upload the image.
- Set license validity – Determine the duration until which the user can access the digital textbook.
- Preview – Preview the final output before publishing.
- And finally, publish.
Guide:
How To Create An Interactive eBook
What tools can be used to create digital textbooks?
The tool you use to create a digital textbook will determine the quality of the final output. Given below are some of the eBook creation tools that you can use to create a compelling etextbook. Here’s How to Select the Best eBook Publishing Platform
Kitaboo – Kitaboo is an award-winning cloud-based digital publishing platform to create, publish and securely deliver multimedia-enhanced interactive eBooks. You can deliver mobile ready responsive content which can be accessed on all major operating devices and platforms. Know more about Kitaboo here.
Designrr – With this tool, you can import content directly from a weblink or a text document or start writing from scratch. You can choose from the hundreds of layouts available on the tool and start designing the eBook. You can customize the eBook by adding images, changing fonts and colors.
Blurb – Blurb is an eBook publishing software capable of assisting throughout the publishing and distribution process.
Notion press – Notion press lets you create eBooks with the help of dedicated eBook experts. Notion Press will help you publish eBooks and distribute it globally.
To sum it up
Digital textbooks are the future of education. The sooner they are adopted by schools and institutions, the sooner teachers and students can leverage its benefits.
Not only is it helpful for course creators in terms of content creation and design, but it also helps students to learn better, improving their overall learning experience.
For all the institutes and publishers who are still in two minds about making the switch, digital learning is the way to go, and therefore they should make optimum use of this technology.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the best eLearning platform to integrate Videos, PPTs, Quizzes, etc.?
What is the best-gamified eLearning platform?
Kitaboo, one of the top gamified eLearning solutions, can make learning more enjoyable and increase training effectiveness. It has a simple drag-and-drop functionality to add gamified features to your eLearning resources, making them more interactive.
How good are the online courses at Perfect eLearning?
Besides, they have 24/7 support to clear doubts, quizzes, and assignments, making learning more engaging. In addition, they have Live classes and let you do projects of your own, increasing your confidence and enabling you to ace interviews.
Are Perfect eLearning courses suited for freshers?
New graduates can easily grasp the courses, and their tutors are very patient with freshers. Besides, they take their time to interpret complex theories in a more easy and understandable way. Further, their Learn Now and Pay Later option is a boon for freshers.
What are the best, easy-to-use, and affordable eLearning solutions?
Furthermore, if you’re a teacher looking to contribute to these eLearning solutions, you can create ebooks using digital publishing platforms like Kitaboo and distribute them to a wider audience.
DISCOVER HOW AN INTERACTIVE EBOOK PUBLISHING PLATFORM CAN HELP YOU
Kitaboo is a cloud-based content platform to create-publish-distribute interactive mobile-ready ebooks.
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Digital Publishing / September 17, 2020
Mike Harman
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