eBooks: Resources for Reading in the Content Area.

Presenter: Dr. Terry Cavanaugh
Email: tcavanau@unf.edu
Web: http://drscavanaugh.org/ebooks/

As of 2004 the Million Book Project had digitized over 80,000 free eBooks.

A library in every computer.

Recommended eBook format: MS Reader http://www.microsoft.com/reader

Linked Reading List and eBook Libraries: http://www.drscavanaugh.org/ebooks

& Advantages of eBooks

o Cost
o Size
o Weight

& Readability features of eBooks

o Highlighting
o Note taking
o Interactive instant dictionary
o Bookmarks

& eBook accommodations

o Read aloud (text-to-speech)
o Text size and shape (instant large print books)

Online Libraries:

¨ Project Gutenberg Official Home Site - http://www.promo.net/pg/

¨ Children's Books On-Line For FREE: http://www.editec.net/

¨ Blackmask: http://www.blackmask.com/

¨ Baen Free Library: http://www.baen.com/library/

¨ E-Book Library at the Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/ebooklist.html

What is an eBook? It's an enhanced book without the paper.

eBooks are books or other forms of text in digital form.

Provide reading enhancement with interactive eBooks. Discover free eBook resources to create an eBook digital library for use in content area reading. At little to no cost, using technologies that are already available at most schools, it is possible to expand the school media center’s collection of books, at the same time making many of the books more accessible for students. Digital libraries can be created on a stand alone computer, made part of the school network, or placed on the internet. As part of the school network, students have access to the electronic text portion of the collection from networked computers throughout the school. An additional benefit is that books that have passed into the public domain can be given to students at no cost.

EBooks are forms of electronic text containing many features, some of which can be classified as accommodations. The eBook itself has three different components, an eBook file, software to read the eBook, and a hardware device on which to read it: computer, laptop, or handheld. EBooks are available through online libraries, bookstores, or they can be created from common forms of electronic text with readily available programs, which are often available free. Examples of accommodating features that some eBooks currently have include: light weight (in comparison to other texts), adjustable text size, highlighting, bookmarking, note taking, interactive dictionaries, and even reading aloud. By using these features instructors can create pre-accommodated eBooks for student reading using items such as advance organizers and reading guides. Reading is considered to be one of the basic activities in all educational situations, and as such it is one of the most common activities requiring accommodations or modifications for special needs students.

The format of eBook that I have found to have the greatest number features for ease of use and most advanced interactive abilities is the Microsoft Reader eBook. MS Reader uses a display format called “ClearType” which makes text displayed on a screen look like words in a printed book. Some of the other features of MS Reader include a graphic that displays the reader’s location within the book, a navigation system that remembers where the reader stops reading and the last place that was viewed allowing for instant return. The text is adaptable allowing users to select from a variety of sizes and font styles to set the most comfortable display for the user. The MS Reader eBook also creates an annotation file that stores reader created bookmarks, highlights, drawings, and notes. It also has interactive dictionaries, and searching within the book for specific words and phrases. Along with these interactive features, the page display of the eBook itself is well designed, including margins to increase reading comfort, and a portrait page layout that displays a whole page at a time (no scrolling), with the option to black out the rest of the computer screen. The ability to carry books, references, notes and other resources electronically allows users to make better use of the information, along with the additional just-in-time learning advantages of options like the interactive dictionaries.

Interactive dictionary highlighting ability note taking text-to-speech

Content Area Reading: The Trade Book Concept

Science

Physics: The Strange Life of Nikola Tesla, Nikola Tesla

Chemistry: The Chemical History of A Candle, Michael Faraday

Biology: The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection; or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Charles Darwin

Earth Science: VOLCANOES, Robert I. Tilling

Astronomy: (PDF) Satellite Story, Jocelyn Bergen: http://texts01.archive.org/texts/opensourcebooks/Satellite.pdf

Children's Biology/Remote sensing: (web) Echo the Bat: http://imagers.gsfc.nasa.gov/echohome.html

Math

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions http://www.blackmask.com/cgi-bin/newlinks/search.cgi?d=1&query=flatland

Principals of mathematics - Newton http://members.tripod.com/~gravitee/

Social Studies

World Fact Book: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

Amistad Argument--John Quincy Adams: http://www.blackmask.com/cgi-bin/newlinks/search.cgi?d=1&query=amistad

United States of America's Korean War Commemoration: http://korea50.army.mil/teachers/index.shtml

Language

Florida Recommended Reading list free book links: http://drscavanaugh.org/ebooks/FL_read_list.htm

Hobson’s Choice: http://www.blackmask.com/cgi-bin/newlinks/search.cgi?d=1&query=hobson%27s+choice

Foreign Language

Libros Tauro (Argentina): http://www.librostauro.com.ar/
Spanish: Several thousand eBooks

Athena Texts Francais: http://un2sg4.unige.ch/athena/
French: 10,000 eBooks (French & Swiss Authors) Literature, philosophy, history, economics, & science, etc.

Gottingen State & University Library, Germany: http://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/search-entry.shtml
German: Approximately 4500 eBooks titles, primarily in German, French, & English, devoted mostly to Exploration & Travel Literature & Mathematics

Art

International Children’s Library (picture books): http://www.icdlbooks.org/

Physical Education

Learn CPR : http://depts.washington.edu/learncpr/