Friday, April 11, 2014

Open iBook Test

Last year over Spring Break, I created my first ebook with iBooks Author. I was going to be starting a unit on linear functions when I returned from break, so I designed a linear functions chapter of the book. After creating the chapter, I then created notes sheets for my students that mirrored the book, and the videos that were in my ebook were also added to my website for extra help when completing their homework. 

Throughout the unit, my students used the notes sheets. When it came time for the unit test, I allowed them to use my ebook as an open book test. The test was separated into sections which corresponded to the sections of the chapter in the ebook. If they were working on a problem and just couldn't remember how to solve it, they could refer to the corresponding section of the ebook. I demonstrated to them how to have the ebook read the text to them and how they could watch the videos in the ebook for a refresher on how to solve that type of problem.


Since my ebook is not even close to being finished (it only has that one chapter!) I have never published it, which would make it easier to download onto the iPads. In order to get it onto the iPads, I had to connect each and every iPad to my Mac and click on "Preview" in iBooks Author to get it to load onto the iPads. Last year, it was a fairly easy process. This year, our iPad carts are all being supervised, so I ran into a slight glitch when trying to load the ebook onto the iPads. I received the following error message:


After doing a little research, I discovered that this error was due to the fact that our iPads are supervised. With the help of our tech guy, John, we were able to use the Mac that is used to supervise the iPads to load my ebook onto all the iPads. Phew! What a lot of work for only two days worth of using the ebook! I guess I should focus on created more chapters so I can get more use out of it...


4 comments:

  1. It is all about learning process. Glad you figure it out. Is the book available to the public?

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    1. No, I haven't published it yet. I'm hoping to complete a few more chapters before I do that. Thanks for the comment!

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  2. We just use Dropbox to upload our iBooks Author books. Super easy. Let me know if you want to know more. Great post! Love iBooks Author. Have you ever used Bookry or Book Widgets?

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    1. Jen,
      Do you know if the Dropbox method works if the book hasn't been "published" yet?
      I have checked out Bookry but haven't used any of their widgets yet, just the ones that come with iBooks Author. Maybe in my next chapters...

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