One of the most powerful book creation apps for the iOS devices is Book Creator. This app, with its straightforward user interface and ability to embed multimedia support, has become a go to app for creating content. The materials created with this app are powerful supports for students of all abilities.

For details on how to install the app and create a book – visit this great WIKI How page.

While the Book creator app will let you transfer files to other apps, some of the multimedia features do not transfer. For multimedia rich books, this lost functionality can be the difference between student engagement and just another missed opportunity.

What about using these multimedia books on other devices? Enter the Readium app for Chrome. This app is an ePub reader that opens books right in the browser window. First, transfer your file from the Book Creator app to Google Drive. Then open the Readium app and upload the multimedia book into your browser. Once the book loads into your Readium library, simply select the book and arrow through the pages. All the multimedia elements are active so just click to launch the embedded audio and video.

Using these supports can expand the use of multimedia supports beyond the available technology in the classroom. By using the Chrome browser, these multimedia books are no longer confined to the iOS devices but instead can be accessed by any web enabled Chrome device.

The screencast below shows the process of accessing the multimedia book in Chrome. I created a simple book about the Pearl Jam concert I attended on the Lightning Bolt tour (the concert was great – thanks for asking!). This book consists of pictures downloaded from my phone, text descriptions, embedded audio and a short video clip that I recorded on my phone.

 

Contact me if you want to learn more about becoming your own digital publisher and engaging students with technology.