eBook Formats

Nope, not digital literacy, but this will be a lesson in that as well, today we are talking about Digital Literature.  My first device for reading was an eminently portable, inexpensive and 100% recyclable device called: a book.  Now, the problem was that I soon had many of these portable devices, ones that I liked to refer back to and read again.  Sort of like getting together with old friends.



Fast forward 20 some odd years.  I got my first PDA (no, not Public Display of Affection, I am a techie, I didn't even know that meaning until someone told me about it.  I am talking about a Personal Digital Assistant) I had a PalmPilot IIIxe.I tinkered and toyed with getting my books onto this device and found a few things that worked but nowadays there are a vast jungle of options for reading books digitally.

When you go down to the store to buy a new appliance, you never stop to think about whether it will work with your electricity at home.  Why not?  There are different ways electricity can be delivered and if you have traveled out of the United States, you know that plugs aren't the same everywhere in the world.  Why don't we worry?  Because of standardization.  Someone somewhere (or probably a group of someone's in a meeting) decided that one style of plug was going to be required either by law or by consensus.  This is slowly happening with cell phone adapters, among other things.

It however hasn't happened with books.  Why does that matter?  Well, if you are deciding on a device that is dedicated to reading books, or you are decided to buy books that you want to use with multiple devices it's worthwhile to know what you are looking at it.  With books, there are still a bunch of different widely adopted formats of eBooks.  Below are three and where you are most likely to encounter them.

.azw

This is the file format for the Amazon Kindle.  You probably won't ever see it because if you have a Kindle your books are delivered via Cell phone or Wi-Fi and they live on Amazon.com and your device.  But it's good to know it exists.  Also, since Amazon is interested in selling books, the software needed to read the .azw format is widely available on multiple platforms.

.ePub

This is the format of choice for iBooks on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.  It is an open format that while a little heavy on resource use, it is still a very good format that is being supported.  The fact that it is the format chosen for the iBooks app means that it will be strong for as log as Apple is strong and supports it.

.prc/.mobi

These two file formats are variations of each other.  The .prc format was created for the Palm™ devices.  MobiPocket is a reader you can still use on many portable devices and the .mobi format is still commonly used.

To learn more you can start with the really great wikipedia article on eBook formats: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats

Tech Tip Tuesday: 21st Century Digital Literature

Nope, not digital literacy, but this will be a lesson in that as well, today we are talking about Digital Literature.  My first device for reading was an eminently portable, inexpensive and 100% recyclable device called: a book.  Now, the problem was that I soon had many of these portable devices, ones that I liked to refer back to and read again.  Sort of like getting together with old friends.



Fast forward 20 some odd years.  I got my first PDA (no, not Public Display of Affection, I am a techie, I didn't even know that meaning until someone told me about it.  I am talking about a Personal Digital Assistant) I had a PalmPilot IIIxe.I tinkered and toyed with getting my books onto this device and found a few things that worked but nowadays there are a vast jungle of options for reading books digitally.

When you go down to the store to buy a new appliance, you never stop to think about whether it will work with your electricity at home.  Why not?  There are different ways electricity can be delivered and if you have traveled out of the United States, you know that plugs aren't the same everywhere in the world.  Why don't we worry?  Because of standardization.  Someone somewhere (or probably a group of someone's in a meeting) decided that one style of plug was going to be required either by law or by consensus.  This is slowly happening with cell phone adapters, among other things.

It however hasn't happened with books.  Why does that matter?  Well, if you are deciding on a device that is dedicated to reading books, or you are decided to buy books that you want to use with multiple devices it's worthwhile to know what you are looking at it.  With books, there are still a bunch of different widely adopted formats of eBooks.  Below are three and where you are most likely to encounter them.

.azw

This is the file format for the Amazon Kindle.  You probably won't ever see it because if you have a Kindle your books are delivered via Cell phone or Wi-Fi and they live on Amazon.com and your device.  But it's good to know it exists.  Also, since Amazon is interested in selling books, the software needed to read the .azw format is widely available on multiple platforms.

.ePub

This is the format of choice for iBooks on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.  It is an open format that while a little heavy on resource use, it is still a very good format that is being supported.  The fact that it is the format chosen for the iBooks app means that it will be strong for as log as Apple is strong and supports it.

.prc/.mobi

These two file formats are variations of each other.  The .prc format was created for the Palm™ devices.  MobiPocket is a reader you can still use on many portable devices and the .mobi format is still commonly used.

To learn more you can start with the really great wikipedia article on eBook formats: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats

Web of the Week Wednesday: SweetSearch

Web Address: http://www.sweetsearch.com/

SweetSearch is a search engine managed by Dulcinea Media.  This organization is committed to providing reliable resources for educators, students and all other learners.  SweetSearch searches only reviewed credible websites and returns the results.  From the main search page you can also find links to various versions of SweetSearch.  SweetSearch2Day provides daily learning.  SweetSearch4Me is focused on emerging learners. And of course SweetSearch provides excellent results itself.  Add this one to your list of search engines.

Web of the Week Wednesday: http://www.plagiarism.org/

Web Address: http://www.plagiarism.org/

This week's web of the week came via an article: http://www.findingdulcinea.com/guides/Education/Plagiarism-Prevention.xa_1.html The article there does a fantastic job of explaining how to avoid plagiarism and help students avoid plagiarism.  The only thing I can add is the resources available on UEN's website: http://www.uen.org/policy/copyrightguidelines.shtml

Tech Tip Tuesday: Have your students Flip for video

Last Week was all about Teacher uses for Flip video.  This week it's the kids turn:

• Have students write dialogue and film from two different angles


• Document Science Experiments


• Conduct Surveys


• Conduct interviews


• Use to record presentations as practice before presenting in class


• Create a newscast


• Create a Public Service Announcement about your class or a relevant topic

If you can think of other ideas leave them in the comments.  It would be great to get some more ideas.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Flip (or some other verb if you choose) for Video

There are several different brands of highly portable simple to use video cameras on the market. Probably the most popular are Flip Video cameras. These super small, portable and affordable video cameras are becoming popular in schools. Teachers are finding creative and effective ways of using these cameras to help students learn and to make things easier for themselves. Here are some quick tips and ideas for using your video camera:

• First day of class! Record each student introducing themselves.  Now you can play it back to learn names


• Record students reading then 2 weeks later record them reading the same passage to document improvements


• In the spring video tape your classroom, closets, desk, cabinets, as a visual inventory


• Set up the camera on a tripod and record yourself during instruction to improve your own teaching


• Record student presentations, skits, dialogues etc. to use as documentation of your class activities and for students to use in portfolios.


• Take one along on vacations, trips, and outings so you can grab footage of that amazing ..... whatever you really need to teach....

Next week student project ideas!