E-book, textbook, EVO

1. EVO 2016
The electronic village online
Tired of textbooks?
Do we need an e-book?

2. Why an e-book?
 Sam: Aren’t textbooks enough?
 John: No, we are digital natives and we need a change.
 Sam: Like what?
 John: We need technology and real-time instruction. For example- My
textbooks are boring.
 Sam: But it gives you material to practice. Isn’t it?
 John: Well the material is mostly class oriented. What after class? What
can motivate me to enhance what I just learnt?
 Sam: Drills, home-works, task-based assignments, study guides...
 John: Sorry man! No time. I am busy, a full-time student, a part-time job,
problem with money etc… Only thing easy for me is my mobile and my tablet
that I carry everywhere…something that I interact with all the time…
 Sam: So you mean, you need an e-teacher?
 John: By all means, no. What I want is an e-book that can help interact with
me all the way at work or at the restaurant, answer my questions, help me
with links to assignments and help me to understand and remember the
course.

3. What must be the content?
 http://teachpaperless.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/digital-textbook-should-be-more-than.html
Today I asked them what they think a digital text should include. These were some of their
ideas:
 Video
 Links to sources (My students want the author's sources so they can check the reliability
of the textbook, or do further investigation.)
 Activities they can download
 Intuitive navigation (like a web page)
 Loads quickly
 Customizable fonts
 Adjustable page size
 Colorful
 Searchable
 Links to sites of experts on the topic
 Question and answer section where they can post and respond
 Live chat with other students and recognized experts
 Rollover of terms to see the definition
 Linked table of contents
 Printable pages

4. My context
As a teacher of English for Medical Purposes, I
think I would need the following in my e-book:
 1) e-material relevant to the local culture
 2) interactive quizzes and activities for
grammar and vocabulary
 3) relevant videos embedded in the textbook
that show the use of the English language in
medicine.

5. My context (2)... (contd)
 4) links to live-chat with the author for the
teacher if required.
 5) All possible answers with precise
explanation. Usually textbooks bring just one
answer in the answer-key.
 6) Activities and exercises should match the
learners needs. In other words, the e-book
should be able to fulfill the deficiencies or fill
the gap required to understand the class.

6. My Context (3)… contd
 7) Inclusion of Google apps in the e-book.
 8) Ease of access via mobile phone or tablet
PCs
THE END