1. Making OER available on multiple
platforms (U-Now, iBooks, eBooks)
Andy Beggan
Head of Learning Technology
Steve Stapleton
Joshua Baker
Open Nottingham
27th March 2013
OER13
4. Sustainability OpenCourseWare
Created 10 x 10 credit
modules on sustainability from
different subject perspectives
5 new modules converted to eBooks
Modules released as Open Educational
Resources (OER) on the institutions OER
site ‘U-Now’
Taught modules available under the
Nottingham Advantage Award scheme
5. The project team included academic staff and learning
technologists. Most were working with OER for the first time.
Collaborative development
6. Reuse and reuse-ability
Existing third party OER was re-used wherever possible!
Over 200 third party open resources were included
across the 5 modules!
9. ‘Well it’s taken a lot of
work to do, but like to
use it, it was just, I
don’t know, it just
flowed.’
Student feedback on OERs
10. “I can’t ever imagine
buying a textbook digitally
for the benefit of a few
extra quizzes or a video or
two… [but another] found
them really useful but not
interactive enough, so it
depends on the discipline”
Roberta Wiafe, Sussex University
19th March 2013
Student views on eBooks
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/student-life/9933453/Academic-e-books-will-they-ever-take-off.html
12. Created five eBooks from the OER materials and released
them as free downloads.
We used CC licenced images to ensure strong presentation of
materials. This shows how OER can drive up quality.
We are now working on ePub versions to ensure availability
across multiple platforms and multiple devices
eBooks
14. OER
resource
converted
to .Doc file
.Doc
edited to
suit
desired
formatting
Graphs
redesigned
where
needed for
B&W Kindle
display.
Tested on
Kindle
through
conversion to
.mobi format
(KDP)
Reduced
amount of
imagery to
suit Kindle
display….in
direct
contrast to
iBooks
.Doc
uploaded to
Smashwords
and made
available
through
‘meatgrinder’
into multiple
formats:
- ePub
- Mobi
- PDF
- HTML
- RTF
ePub creation process
15. Platform Published Comments
Apple iBook
store
Yes Proprietary format, but high quality results are easily achievable
Amazon
Kindle (KDP)
No Not able to publish for free – will price match with other providers
Smashwords Yes Easy to use and facilitates access to other eBook stores.
CC licencing not possible in metadata but can be added to description
Barns &
Noble
Yes Publishing possible through Smashwords distribution.
Requires credit information if publishing through B&N directly.
Kobo No Publishing possible through Smashwords distribution
Requires ISBN
Bibliostatic No Response from provider that they cannot add much to the distribution
beyond what we already have with Smashwords
Project
Gutenberg
Yes & No No longer used due to difficulty in using site and reliability concerns
eBook Distribution
21. • Conversion to ePub format does
widen access… no surprizes there!
• 33% increase in access over a 5 month period
• OER eBook publication is relatively easy…
– even if publishers aren’t facilitating this process yet!
• Online remains preferred access route
• iBooks currently most popular downloaded format
• Authors see eBooks has a higher quality output
• Comparative focus groups with students a potential
next step
Conclusions
Smashwords URLs
Sustainability: The Business Perspective: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/277927
Sustainability: The Geography Perspective: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/292329
Sustainability & Engineering:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/292666
Sustainability in the Arts and Humanities: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/292674
Learning for Sustainability:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/292679
Barnes and Noble URLs
Learning for Sustainability:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/learning-for-sustainability-sarah-speight/1114821617?ean=2940044364110
Sustainability: the geography perspective:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sustainability-simon-gosling/1114843470?ean=2940044372900
Sustainability: the Business perspective:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sustainability-simon-wright/1114843304?ean=2940044372856
Sustainability in the Arts and Humanities:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sustainability-in-the-arts-and-humanities-naomi-sykes/1114843500?ean=2940044372924