Creating Ebooks Using Open Source Tools

FDLA Journal Volume 1 1-1-2014 Creating Ebooks Using Open Source Tools John Raible University of Central Florida, Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fdla-journal Part of the Online and Distance Education Commons, and the Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons Recommended Citation Raible, John (2014) "Creating Ebooks Using Open Source Tools," FDLA Journal: Vol. 1 , Article 2. Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fdla-journal/vol1/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in FDLA Journal by an authorized editor of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact . Article 2 Raible: Creating Ebooks Using Open Source Tools CREATING EBOOKS USING OPEN SOURCE TOOLS John Raible University of Central Florida John C. Hitt LIbrary Building #2 12701 Pegasus Drive Orlando, FL 32816 Introduction The availability of digital materials has exploded with the popularity of mobile devices. Based on current trends it is a natural evolution; digital materials will be included into all levels of education . Subsequently, it will be imperative that consideration be given to the integration of digital materials. To begin the integration of digital materials, Florida State statute section 1006.282 (2011) established a pilot program for the transition to electronic and digital instructional material to facilitate the transition to instructional materials from printed to an electronic or a digital format for K-12 public schools. By the 2015-2016 school year, the goal is for Florida school districts to spend at least 50% of classroom material funding on digital materials and to achieve a student mobile device ratio of 1:1 by 2017-2018 school year. (Nieto, 2013) The dramatic shift in the delivery of educational materials at the primary and secondary levels will have a profound impact on the expectations of students moving into higher education. The traditional model for post-secondary educational materials shifts the cost to students through the purchase of printed textbooks. Rising textbook prices provide “sticker shock” and often drives students to delay purchasing or avoid purchasing textbooks. According to the United States Government Accountability Office (2013), textbook prices have increased 82% from 2002 to 2012. Therefore, it is essential that alternatives are explored to reduce cost of textbooks. One option for faculty to lower the cost of post-secondary education is to create digital materials, using open formats and content instead of choosing proprietary publisher content or restricting students to a technology ecosystem (i.e. using Apple iBooks which can only be viewed on an iPad, iPhone, or Apple computer). This article will detail the considerations, design elements and technology for faculty to create digital materials, particularly eBooks utilizing the electronic publication (EPUB) format. Published by NSUWorks, 2014 1 FDLA Journal, Vol. 1 [2014], Art. 2 Purpose This paper attempts to show that faculty have a scope of choices for creating an eBook, ranging from simple to complex. A simple purpose is to create a supplemental resource. This resource can be used for easy access content in an academic, work, field, or service learning environment. The complex option involves replacing a current textbook. The time commitment needed for the replacing a textbook is great. Identifying the purpose of an eBook will maximize your efforts and resources. The main content challenge for creating eBooks is copyright. Obtaining copyright permission for text, music, images, and video may be a prolonged complex expensive process. The FAIR USE provision of the 1976 United States Copyright Act could be applied to content used in a eBook for educational use however, the content would have to pass the four factor criteria. The four factor criteria is comprised of the following questions: 1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes 2. The nature of the copyrighted work 3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole 4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work (United States Copyright, 2012) While FAIR USE factor criteria may allow for the limited use of a copyrighted work, copyright challenges can be removed entirely by searching for open educational resources (OER). Atkins, Brown, & Hammond (2007) define OER as “teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use or re-purposing by others.” OER is an umbrella term which encompasses various types of resources which include lessons, guides, e-book, articles, audio tracks, videos, and multimedia. (UNESCO & Commonwealth of Learning, 2011). Choosing OER resources will save development time and avoid copyright complications. Despite the availability of OER materials, adoption rates of open textbooks. a type of OER, tend to be low. A survey of State of Florida higher education institutions revealed 33% reported no use while 41% reported uncoordinated efforts on campus to use open textbooks. (Adkins. et al., 2013) Individual faculty are implementing OER materials without support from the institution. This information clearly show efforts need to be made on campus to educate and support faculty in the adoption of OER materials. Design https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fdla-journal/vol1/iss1/2 2 Raible: Creating Ebooks Using Open Source Tools eBook design can mirror printed texts with a few different considerations. Decide on a consistent organizational scheme such as using chapter, section, or topics terminology to break up content. Once the book structure is defined, the design of individual eBook pages are similar to creating a web page. Headings, lists, and chunking content should be utilized in creating individual eBook pages. The author’s recommended practice is to build and layout content in a word processor before using eBook software. Instead of using Microsoft Word, use the Apache Foundation’s Open Office word processor. This program is available at no cost and provides the added benefit of retaining styles and formatting when importing content into eBook software. One key design element to address is the role of the Internet in your eBook. Ask yourself, should the eBook require an internet connection to view content? This decision can be addressed by the purpose of the eBook. If the eBook is meant to be consumed in a rural or workplace setting, internet connectivity may not be available. A suggestion is to include the majority of content without internet connectivity and clearly identify content which will need internet connectivity. This identification method will allow the reader to (...truncated)