Corey Carson, an Apple representative, talked to us about iBooks and iTunes for education. This is the afternoon session for the University of Wyoming Technology Bootcamp.
iBooks Author helps you create an entirely new kind of textbook that’s dynamic, current, engrossing, and truly interactive. This session will cover how to create a textbook that is immersive and fun to use.
iTunes U will also be shown in this session, which now allows faculty to create and share complete courses, so students can carry their coursework wherever they go on iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone.
iBooks Author
Corey is showing us what is possible with iBooks Author, and he is showing us how to build a book.
iBooks shelf
In iBooks, you can view PDF files, epub files, and iBooks files. Apple has made iBook tools only for Macs. Corey is demoing the iBook, Life on Earth. He is showing how easy it is to browse through chapters. You can zoom in on articles on a page and work with interactive elements on a page. He explains that you can use a PowerPoint file to create interactivity. It is also possible to highlight text on a page and add notes to an iBook. It is possible to search through definitions in the book and search the Web or Wikipedia for definitions. You can transfer everything you highlight to study cards. The system automatically backs up all the notes taken in iCloud.
You need iOS 10 Lion to build with the iBook Authoring tool. If you publish for a fee, you must sell it only through the iBookstore. The most that you can sell a book is $14.95. Apple gets 30%, and the owner gets 70%. The iBooks Author tool is free to download and use.
Building a book
You get to choose from six layouts to build a book. The template has placeholders that help to shape the imported image. At the start, the book contains certain features that you may find unnecessary. You can delete these items. You can drag in MS Word documents or sections of documents. It is possible for you to preserve styles from your original document. You can drag in new images from your file folders. It is possible to check the view in landscape and portrait orientations. Corey showed how to insert an image gallery.
He pointed out some of the accessibility features. If you want to use a presentation, take your PowerPoint presentation and run it through Keynote. Once the file is in Keynote, you can then add a widget to your book and add the presentation. You can add various types of media using widgets. You can control the media’s display.
Corey demoed how to create interactive images. You can also link within the iBook to reference various topics or artifacts in the iBook. It is possible to create a glossary through some keyboard shortcuts. Finally, you can add multiple-choice review questions.
iBook Author could be a great tool for creating weekly student notes.
iTunes U
There have been 700 million assets from iTunes U. Use a browser to see iTunes U courses. It is best seen through iTunes. You can upload full courses with video, documents, apps, and books. Students can watch videos online or download for offline viewing. They can check off items as they complete them. Students can highlight and annotate the content you give. Students can filter material based on type.
Stanford is recording 80 percent of lectures and placing them on iTunes U. Common Sense Media has courses useful for teachers.
Creating Courses
iTunes site manager gets to decide who can create courses. Course creators can decide what content to put in a course. One can upload content from a computer, from the iTunes Store, or from a website. Students who subscribe to a course with an iOS device will receive notifications from the instructor automatically. Start building a course with course settings. It is important to select a course type (self-paced or in-session). Also, select Creative Commons licensing. After you create the course, you can share the link with others. The platform conceals courses through obscurity.
Interesting demonstration of two interesting tools.
Recommended course
Cedars School of Excellence – Creating iTunes U Courses
Calibre is a tool for creating EPUBs, and it is free.
