Hodder Education

eTextbooks – an overview of the choices facing Secondary Schools

and Colleges

It’s about the content

• Book = an innovation that made delivery of content via paper convenient

• Basic ebooks = an innovation that made delivery of content via digital convenient and work on a multitude of devices

• Enhanced ebooks = an innovation that’s not yet mainstream and changes the nature of books – no longer linear– multi-dimensional

The Book Help Desk

eBook Formats

• PDFs

• Fixed Layout ePUB

• Reflowable ePUB / Kindle

• ePUB 3.0 / Enhanced ePUB

• iBooks

File formats: PDFs

= converted documents and graphics to

Portable Document Format

Show documents and graphics as theywould if printed. There are a myriad of

freesoftware readers on PCs, Tablets andeReaders that will play back the files

File formats: PDFs

File formats: Fixed Layout ePub

Fixed layout ePub = standard format designed to provide a view of the content that is akin to the print

Can be sold via iBook Store, Kindle store (but only for use in Kindle app on Kindle Fire / other tablets)

The big advantage of this format is that we can produce the files directly out of InDesign – our typesetting software / re use them in our online services and sell them via Amazon / Apple

File formats: ePUB / Kindle

ReFlowable ePUB / Kindle= standard format designed primarily for novels– can be used for textbooks featuring simple

layouts

The big advantage of this format is that text can

be re-sized and searched and is supported by all

of the main ereader devices and applications on

tablets and PCs

File formats: ePUB / Kindle

File formats: ePUB 3.0

= standard format utilising HTML5 that is

beginning to be supported by ereaders(particularly applications on tablets)

Allows publishers to support more-complex

layouts and integrate multimedia

File formats: ePUB 3.0 HTML5

© Inkling

File formats: iBooks

= Apple-specific file that only works in iBooks Appon iPad or iPad mini and – when new OS arrives on Macs (PCs and laptops)

Allows publishers to create a richer multimedia

experience. Takes ebooks to a new level, but is

not a standard publishing format and so available

titles are limited at this stage

File formats: iBooks

Type of ebook

Advantages Disadvantages

Available from

Supported on

PDF(usually protected via use of Digital Rights Management)

- Easy for publishers to produce- looks like the print

- Not sold by majority of re sellers - Do not adjust to screen size – zoomable only

- RM Books- ebooks.com- library aggregators such as Ebrary; Myilibrary; Dawsonera etc.

(varies by supplier)PC; Mac; Browsers; iOS devices; Android

Reflowable ePUB(usually protected via use of Digital Rights Management)

- Allows user to manipulate size of text and search- Reflows to fit a variety of screen sizes- Sold by majority of ebook resellers

- Conversion from integrated pages to format is tricky - As a result fewer titles available

- Amazon- Apple- eBooks.com- RMBooks- Kobo and other trade outlets + some library aggregators

(Within / on a variety of applications / devices) PC; Macs; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Android Tablets; iOS devices; Browsers

Type of ebook

Advantages Disadvantages

Available from

Supported on

ePUB 3.0 / HTML5(usually protected via use of Digital Rights Management)

- makes current ePub standard much more adaptable and… - supports larger range of multimedia

- Not sold by majority of re sellers at this point- Only some apps / devices support the standard

As yet not widely available

(As of Jan 2013)

PC; Mac; Browsers; iOS devices; Coming soon – Android devices and Windows tablets

iBooks(protected via use of Digital Rights Management)

- A new multimedia rich format of ebooks- Available now and Apple have made an authoring tool available for free

- Conversion from standard print files to iBooks formatis tricky - Only works on iPad and iPad mini (using iBooks app)

- Apple – iBook Store Textbook category only

iPad; iPad miniin iBooks app

Hodder’s Plans

Enhanced eTextbook files that can be purchased and assigned to students that are then delivered to users via the web and apps for use on their device of choice.