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Reasons to use ePub with your students
 * //ePubs for the Classroom//**


 * Reason 1 - It’s easier than you may think... **

Sometimes when new tech initiatives come along, you put off using them because you think they will be too complicated and/or will only make sense to the real tech geeks. Another concern is often that it will be too difficult to use with students and will take up too much time. I felt the same way about ePub at first, but having used them I now think they are easy to create and offer great potential for learning in the classroom. There are a few tricks to know before getting started but once you know what they are, it’s pretty much smooth sailing from there. Anyone who can make a // Pages // document, can make an ePub. Apple's // iBooks Author // is a program that is just as easy to use as // Pages //. However, while the program is free from the Apple app store, it does require the Lion operating system.

Reason 2 – Instant Authorship
I know that I’m not the only educator looking for innovative ways to share student work with the wider community. By having students create ePubs, they can share their work with anyone who has a iPod/iPad/iPhone. Our students can become published authors in a few clicks. This has great potential for all curriculum areas and goes a long way for school - home relations.

Epubs, electric publications, make a great tool for evaluation. The digital ease of creation, the versatility of artifacts that can be included and the portability of the media make an ePub the perfect portfolio tool. One example of using the electronic publication as a portfolio would be for a unit of study. Students can collect artifacts to demonstrate their understanding of a topic. Epubs, electric publications, make a great tool for evaluation. The digital ease of creation, the versatility of artifacts that can be included and the portability of the media make an ePub the perfect portfolio tool. One example of using the electronic publication as a portfolio would be for a unit of study. Students can collect artifacts to demonstrate their understanding of a topic.

** Reason 4 – Access Multiple Literacies **



Images, audio and video can be incorporated into ePubs. This means students can access pre-selected material to support learning using multiple literacies. For example a foreign language teacher can embedded audio files of the correct pronunciation of some of the images/vocab the students should understand. This format also allows students to show their understanding in a variety of forms. All of these media can be embedded in an ePub. They can express themselves in a variety of modes.

Reason 5 – Portability
One of the best things about an ePub is that they are read on devices that are inherently mobile – iPods/iPads/iPhones. You can read them any time, anywhere, without the need for a wifi connection. They can be shared with parents and on multiple devices.

**ePub for off site work** If your school uses the [|Otter Box Case] or is just really brave, you can take iPads with you on field trips. Students downloaded a ePub at school // (with wifi access) //, then made notes as they go along // (highlighting a passage, clicking note, then typing their response). // When they returned to school, they emailed their group’s notes to the teacher, and she had each group’s feedback instantly.

This page is adapted from the following websites:

[|Apple ePubs for Pages] [|FULL WEBSITE - Tip of the Iceburg]