Introduction

One-Step Creation of Digital Books

In this guided hands-on workshop you will learn how to use the automation tools of OS X to quickly transform existing text, text files, and digital media such as images, and audio/video clips, into digital books, saved in standard EPUB format, viewable on computers and mobile devices.

The ability to easily create and share information is an essential requirement for businesses and classrooms alike. Since many computers and mobile media devices now support digital reader applications, the use of digital books as a means of content delivery has dramatically increased.

On the iPad and the iPhone, the free Apple-provided application for reading digital publications is iBooks. It supports the viewing of both commercial and non-commercial digital publications, including those created in the free and open Electronic Publication (EPUB) format.

OS X includes an Automator action, named Text to EPUB File, designed to make it very easy to convert selected text or text documents into EPUB books, ideal for transferring to iPads and iPhones. Additionally, the created EPUB books can include images, MPEG audio, or MPEG video files.

What is EPUB?

The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) is the trade and standards association for the digital publishing industry. ".epub" is the file extension of an XML format for reflow-able digital books and publications.

".epub" is composed of three open standards, the Open Publication Structure (OPS), Open Packaging Format (OPF) and Open Container Format (OCF), all produced by the IDPF.

"EPUB" allows publishers to produce and send a single digital publication file through distribution and offers consumers interoperability between software/hardware for unencrypted reflow-able digital books and other publications.

Viewing EPUB Publications in OS X

ibooks-256 As stated above, you can use iBooks on the iPhone and iPad to view the digital books you create using the tools featured in this workshop. Recently, Apple shipped OS X Mavericks (v10.9) with iBooks installed by default.

For computers running earlier versions of OS , there are third-party applications for displaying EPUB documents on your computer, one of which is Bookle, from Stairways Software, and it is available on Mac App Store.

For the purposes of this workshop, it is recommend that a digital book reading application for OS X be installed on the computer you are using to view and apply this workshop, if you wish to view the created EPUB documents.

Sharing EPUB Publications Locally

Using the built-in sharing technologies of OS , it is easy to share your created EPUB documents with others on your local network, such as in a classroom or in a small business environment. The Sharing Content Locally workshop covers this topic in detail.

As an introduction, here is a short video describing how to share EPUB content in the classroom.

TOP | CONTINUE

WORKSHOP SEGMENTS

WORKSHOP LEADER NOTES

The purpose of this workshop is to acquaint attendees with the built-in digital content creation tools of OS X.

You will guide attendees through a hands-on process of creating both a simple formatted digital publication, and a more complex digital book containing multiple chapters and multimedia materials.

IMPORTANT: The workshop Sharing Content Locally includes segments demonstrating how to share EPUB content over a local network, such a in a classroom, or small business environment. Here is the link to a short video describing such a scenario.

A laptop or computer running Mac OS X Lion (v10.7) or newer.
Viewing of the created digital publications can be accomplished by transferring the completed files to their iPads or iPhones, or by using a digital reader application available for purchase and download on the Mac App Store, such as Bookle.

Begin the workshop by discussing the use of digital publications and their prevalence in eduction and business environments.

The rapid adoption of the iPhone and the iPad have hastened the adoption of digital publications, which can easily be stored and viewed on these innovative mobile devices.
Ask attendees if they have used iBooks to read a digital publication on their iPads or iPhones.
Ask attendees if they have ever needed to quickly adapt some existing documents to be readable as digital publications.

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