You want to produce an eBook? Okay, then. Talking about EPUB – one format for eBooks – nowadays will either mean EPUB2 or EPUB3. The problem that arises is that these formats are not yet fully standardized. EPUB2 doesn’t allow for interactivity/videos and EPUB3 stands for two different standards, a ‘normal’ one and the other one that Apple uses (iBooks). If you’re thinking about eBooks, you’ll also be confronted with eReaders. There are Kindles (Amazon), and tons of Apps on many different mobile devices. It’s a mess! One format you would definitely have to also provide to your students next to an EPUB is the MOBI format.

In order for you to believe me, go and have a look here: Comparison of e-book formats. Scroll down a bit and have a look at the ‘Comparison tables’. I’m in awe when I look at this.

Shall we begin to talk about the different software that allow you to create eBooks? I hope, you’ll understand that I will not do this. I have tried a few different software to produce eBooks and they have been terrible or just bearable, and in the end, they never produced what I expected.

On the upside, eBooks look wonderful when they are done professionally. Usually though, they only contain text and the rare pictures. If you want to produce an eBook, here is lots of help that was produced at the ZHAW by Daniela Lozza: E-Books. Or you can begin here: Sigil. Lastly, you can finish reading this guide and try out the eSkript platform that will produce EPUB and MOBI format for you, as a byproduct.

Lecturers’ view

Nothing is easy with eBooks. Only a dedicated lecturer with a strong wish for a very special design should try to play around with eBook formats. It is more painful than MS Word or any other editor. The update process is cumbersome and the distribution will be a mess.

Students’ view

If the students get a nice eBook that works on their device, they will be happy, especially if they use the many available software that makes it easy to highlight, take notes and search in the text. Additionally you can have bigger or smaller fonts, set your preferred background color, and many other features that make the experience worthwhile. Using an eBook when you study (literature for example) is a gift. If the content is made for reading purposes, eBooks are much nicer than a PDF.

Technical side

The idea of an eBook is wonderful. You imagine videos and quizzes and think that they even work offline. If you add videos into your eBooks, the same will happen as with PDF. Your files will get so big that it will become difficult to distribute them. Interactivity may be possible but you will never know how your students performed if they even managed to play through it on their specific device. The offline version of an eBook will never be much more than a better looking PDF.

Summary

Conclusion

Using eBooks is wonderful but as a lecturer you’ll not gain anything except for a lot of trouble producing and distributing it.