These slides were shown on the Eduhub Webinar on 11 Dec. 2014. The presentation covers the origins of e-books, a categorisation of interaction types for e-books, and an outlook for integrating e-books into education.

1. Interactive E-books
Christian Glahn

2. For swiss academics
Interactive E-books
=
Enhanced digital book publications

3. 1. The Web, mobiles, and e-books
2. Modes of interactivity
3. Interactivity and managed learning

4. Once upon a time …
the WWW and PDF were new (1993/4)
PDF
HTML

5. … but then computers went mobile
• 1st popular smart device (1996)
• Low resolution screen
(160x160px)
• Monochrome graphics
• Sync-by-wire
• 1st “e-book” readers (ereaders)
• MobiPocket*
• Documents2Go
• Acrobat for PalmOS
“Re spo nsive Desig n”
appears around 10yrs later!

6. E-books reach out to domains
where the WWW and PDF fail(ed)
to meet the user-requirements.
• Offline capability
• Re-floatable content

7. E-books are “mobile first”
resources by design!
Web-technologies became (much) later
part of the game.
“Web-only e-books”
are a b i g N o - N o !

8. PDFs are no e-books??
What is an E-Book?

9. E-books are content-packaging
formats for distributing publications
to a wide range of digital displaying
technologies
The content will adapt to the
displaying capabilities of the “ereader”.

10. For co mpariso n …
PDF is a content format for the
lossless distribution of layouted
documents to a wide range of
printing and displaying devices.
The content looks the same on every “ereader”.

11. E-books are content-packaging
formats for distributing publications
to a wide range of digital displaying
technologies

12. E-books are content-packaging
formats for distributing publications
to a wide range of digital displaying
technologies

13. EPUB version 2 uses XHTML + CSS2 for
formatting.
• Mostly text and images
• Basic interaction
EPUB version 3 uses HTML5 for
formatting and interaction.
(HTML+CSS3+Javascript)
• Multi-media documents
• Complex interaction (sometimes possible)

14. E-books are no longer
limited to text and images.
But many "ereaders" already
have problems with handling
images correctly

15. EPUB introduces “fixed-layout”
documents as alternative to
“reflowable” documents.
Kiss Mar r y Avo i d X

16. EPUB3 introduces scripting
for interactive content
"Progressive enhancement” for
mos t accessible content!

17. EPUB3 defines ereaders as
runtime environments for
interactive content.
Can we publish
apps as e-books?!

18. The Line Between
Apps, Web-apps, and E-books
Native Apps Web-Apps E-books
Full
Device
Capabilities
Online
Business
Logic
Business Logic Complexity
Interactive
Content

19. E-books support different
interactions
• Annotations
• References (Links)
• Interactive graphics
• Quizzes
• Interactive storylines
Ease of authoring
Interoperability

20. Annotations
• Audience-based document
enrichment
• All ereaders provide basic
annotation.
• Highlights
• Notes
• Many ereaders offer also
collaborative annotations.
• New Specifications for sharable
annotations
• Open Annotation
• EPUB Content Fragment
Identifier (epubcfi)
Collaborative annotations in Kindle
http://www.openannotation.org/spec/core/
Annotation tools in iBooks
http://www.idpf.org/epub/linking/cfi/epub-cfi.html

21. Footnotes and Links
• HTML anchors and
links help to move
between chapters and
sections
• “epub:type” links allow
to create pop-ups
• Footnotes
• Glossaries
• Bibliographies
(Some readers require back-references)

22. Interactive Graphics
• SVG or HTML5 Canvas
graphics preferred
• Works well for diagrams
• PNG or JPEG if photos are
required
• A lot of Javascript is
necessary!
Many authors and
ereaders fail here
Example taken from Sanders Kleinfeld: HTML5 for publishers; O'Reilly

23. Quizzes
• HTML form elements and
form-like interactions
• Some Javascript necessary!
Most authors and
ereaders will fail here

24. Interactive storylines
• Different levels of interactivity
• Content-level scripting
• Changes the content in one chapter
• Spine-level scripting
• Changes the flow of the entire
document
• Javascript manipulation
required Mos t authors and
ereaders fail here

25. Supporting Ereader Capabilities
Providing fallback content for non-scriptable
ereaders is mandatory!
• epub:switch, epub:case, and epub:default
• Choose between ereader capabilities at
content level.
• No scripting required.
"Progressive enhancement” means:
start f rom the fallback pre sentation!

26. The Persistency Pitfall
Persistency of interaction results does not
come for free!
Ereaders force reset the scripting engine when
• Changing chapters
• Changing layouts

27. The Future: Reducing Complexity
for Authors
New widget specification
for EPUB
• Organise interaction logic in
(reusable) content blocks.
• Separate interaction
elements from main content.
• Embed via iframe-elements
http://www.idpf.org/epub/widgets/
Widget example in iBooks

28. E-books
and
Managed Learning

29. SCORM E-books are content-packaging
formats for distributing publications
to a wide range of digital displaying
technologies

30. vs.
• (X)HTML as the primary
data format
• Embedded interaction
• Sequencing via
pagination (and scripts)
• No user-interaction
handling
• No sessions
• Undefined back-channels
• Mixed data-formats
• Interaction objects (SCOs)
• Defined sequencing via
IMS Simple Sequencing
• User-interaction handling
• Session aware
• Back-channel definition via
CMI

31. Overcoming the Gap
for Managed Learning
EDUPUB® profile adapts the functionality of the
EPUB® 3 format to the unique structural, semantic and
behavioural requirements of educational publishing.
• Metadata
• Additional instructor notes
• (Distributable content)
• (Scriptable content)
• (Assessment via IMS QTITM)
• (Analytics via IMS Caliper AnalyticsTM)
• (Annotations)
Ve r y e ar ly
working draft!
http://www.idpf.org/epub/profiles/edu/spec

32. EDUPUB Assessment and
Analytics will take some time
• EDUPUB will require IMS LTI conformance
for back-channels
• IMS LTI defines service interactions not
content interactions.
• “Man in the middle” is
built into the design
Ve r y early
working draft!
http://www.imsglobal.org/edupub/EPUB3QTILTICaliper_BestPracticesvd8.pdf

33. Overcoming the Gap
for Managed Learning
EPUB and XAPI Integration (IEEE ADB Initiative)
• Interactions are stored as experiences
• No special content extensions required
• Experiences are available throughout the
book
• Experiences could get exchanged with other
systems at content level
New, but based on exis ting
specifications and techno logies

34. XAPI lo oks promising,
but there are hidden challenges
EPUB does not define how to
organise back-channels.
Not a technical problem!

35. Who owns the
E-book Back-channels?
Authors Publishers
Readers &
Institutions
(teachers/learners)
Distributors

36. Who owns the
E-book Back-channels?
Authors Publishers
Readers &
Institutions
(teachers/learners)
Distributors
back-channels define
The ereader the interaction complexity

37. X Who owns the
E-book Back-channels?
XX
Authors Publishers
Readers &
Institutions
(teachers/learners)
Distributors
Amazon
Apple
Google

38. Who owns the
E-book Back-channels?
X
Authors Publishers
Readers &
Institutions
(teachers/learners)
Distributors
Swiss Law
XX

39. Who owns the
E-book Back-channels?
Authors
Readers &
Institutions
(teachers/learners)
Publishers
Distributors ?

40. Summary
• E-books are mobile-first resources
• E-books are not limited to text and images, but keep the
accessibility in mind
• Ereaders are runtime environments for interactive e-book
content
• Interactive e-books require software development skills (for
the time being)
• E-books are very similar to SCORM Modules (and may
replace them in some cases)
• Access to interaction back-channels guide the
effectiveness of e-books in education (and elsewhere)

41. Dr. Christian Glahn
http://www.isn.ethz.ch
@phish108
http://slidesha.re/phish108
http://lo-f.at/glahn