Making an eBook in the Classroom...

Ever wanted to make a ebook with the children in your class?

Well, here's the journey I went on.  I thought I'd start with some writing the children had already published in class - jellybean similes.

I went hunting on the internet and found a few ways of making ebooks.

ePubBud lets you create an eBook, convert a .doc into an eBook and you can even pay money and buy an ISBN.

Titatok - run by Barnes and Nobel lets you create your ebook and then order your book to print.

I first thought I'd try Apple's Pages as it lets you create .epub files.  I also found a couple of online tutorials detailing the steps.  Click here to view these tutorials

I tried 'Pages,' and discovered it wasn't going to work if I wanted each child to record their voice, reading their jellybean simile.  I just couldn't add multiple sound files in 'Pages,' as they jumped all over the page (excuse the pun).  I could have just converted a .doc into a pdf, but by doing this I wouldn't be able to have any sound files.  

Well, after experimenting with the above I found the answer right under my nose.... Book Creator, an app for the iPad.  This app does cost US $4.99 or NZ $6.49.

I had already taken digital photos of each child's work, so I just emailed these to my iCloud account.  I then saved them into my Camera roll on my iPad.  The interface on Book Creator is user friendly, so I got a group of children to insert each photo on to each page.  I gave them the responsibility of recording their voices.  This app has a 'Getting Started,' tutorial which shows you the basics.  I think there's lots of fun to be had with Book Creator.

Once your ebook is finished you can send it straight to iBooks (or Stanza as I also have this installed on the iPad), you can email it, or send your ebook to iTunes (ebook or pdf).

When our class ebook was finished I could have emailed the .epub file to parents.  However, I wanted the ebook to be uploaded and to be able to be accessed online.  I had a hard time finding anything on the web that could do this.

I found ePub Bud let you upload an .epub file and by changing the settings you could allow the file to be downloaded.  I did this and sent my parents the url address.  Once uploaded your ebook can also be read in a web browser, however because I had sound files this wasn't going to work.  At the time I didn't know this and emailed the support team to question why this button wasn't working. I got a very quick reply and the technician removed 'view in browser button,' so only the 'download button' was visible.  Click here to see our ebook 'Jellybean Similes.'