=Paper=
{{Paper
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|storemode=property
|title=Dynamic Customization of eTextBooks
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-945/paper4.pdf
|volume=Vol-945
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/ltec/IbanezK12
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==Dynamic Customization of eTextBooks==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-945/paper4.pdf
1st International Workshop on Cloud Education Environments (WCLOUD 2012)
Dynamic Customization of eTextBooks
María Blanca Ibáñez
Dept. Ingeniería Telemática
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Madrid, Spain
e-mail: mbibanez@it.uc3m.es
Carlos Delgado Kloos
e-mail: cdk@it.uc3m.es
Abstract— There is no reason eBooks should be monolithic promote the construction of knowledge both individually and
containers of digital information, handled only with tools collectively. To this end, these communities must use
emulating their counterparts in paper. In this article, we mechanisms to guide and assess learners’ progress. Our
propose to structure electronic text books (eTextBooks) as approach supports the teaching-learning process in two
large numbers of low-granularity units that can be created, ways. First, by allowing collaborative publishing to
replaced and deleted independently by learning communities. physically distributed users. Secondly, by offering the
We also propose a software service to dynamically deliver possibility to customize eTextBooks as learning
content units to eBook devices according to specified environments with learning assets (i.e., text, images, audio,
requirements. Our software service is deployed in public
video, 3D interactive objects) required by each student at any
clouds infrastructure.
time.
eBook; ePublishing; learning as a service; cloud education The rest of this article is organized as follows: the
accessibility background of the paper is presented at sections II and III.
Whereas section II outlines the fundamentals of eBooks
technology and its impact on education, section III deals with
I. INTRODUCTION the use of cloud computing in learning environments
The market for electronic books (eBooks) is rapidly supported by eTextBooks. Then, section IV presents a usage
growing and the publishing industry is constantly defining scenario of our proposal, and in section V, we describe the
new concepts of eBooks. Consequently, eBooks content has architecture of our eTextBook service (eTBS). Finally, we
evolved from text and images to richer multimedia assets. present the conclusions in section VI.
Nowadays, it is possible to customize eBooks in simple ways
such as setting text size or adding annotations (bookmarks, II. EBOOK CURRENT TECHNOLOGY: ITS IMPACT ON
highlights, notes, clippings) [1]. However, customization EDUCATION
capabilities in eBooks are limited due to their treatment as Publishers are preparing for the digital future of books in
monolithic entities. To overcome this constraint, we propose general and textbooks in particular. They are indeed attracted
a new approach where eBooks can be handled as structures by the possibility to produce, modify and distribute their
that can grow or shrink, and whose information units can be products cheaper by focusing in target customers. A main
created, replaced, and deleted independently by users. challenge is to avoid the proliferation of publishing formats
Dealing with low-granularity units offers opportunities to generated by platforms of eBooks distribution, namely
collaborative publishing, which in turns allows Kindle for Amazon, Nook for Barnes & Noble, iBook for
customization guided by information needs. Thereby, each Apple, Kobo and Sony Google. In this sense, the
publisher community would produce content suited to their International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) is doing a
interest. successful effort to define a publishing standard: ePUB that
Our approach would benefit from using a cloud is being adopted by the main. Only Amazon has not
computing infrastructure due to the facilities that the Cloud embraced the format yet. Apple belongs to the IDPF Forum
offers both to service provides and users. In the Cloud, but its file-format is not fully compatible with ePUB.
“service providers enjoy greatly simplified software ePUB3 is the third major release of the open standard
installation and maintenance and centralized control over format of the IDPF for digital publications and documents.
versioning; end users can access the service “anytime, The specification is based on web-standards shaped to
anywhere”, share data and collaborate more easily, and keep specific books needs. Briefly, ePUB3 is XHTML content
their data stored safely in the infrastructure.” [2]. with some additional structure and metadata packaged in a
The proposed approach can be especially useful for .zip file (see Fig. 1). It emphasizes the dynamic typesetting
educational and learning communities whose aim is to of content adapted to the reader consumption taking into
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1st International Workshop on Cloud Education Environments (WCLOUD 2012)
account screen size, screen resolution, preferred font size. The aim of this work is to contribute in the social aspect
Besides, it enables structured and accessible content that is of building knowledge by a community of learners using
interoperable between devices both for downloaded and eTextBooks as learning environments.
online consumption. ePUB, it provides video an audio
support; text and audio can be synchronized and allows Java III. CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE USE OF CLOUD
Script execution. COMPUTING IN LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS SUPPORTED BY
ETEXTBOOKS
.ePUB3 Internet and mobile devices have democratized the access
to data; they have contributed to impose the culture of
ubiquitous access to information. Meanwhile, a silent
OEBPS
META-INF
revolution was taken place in the scientific world,
technology known as grid computing enabled sharing,
mimetype
selecting and aggregating of a wide variety of geographic
X Content Navigation
distributed hardware and software resources to communities
MX Documents Documents Style Sheets of scientists [6]. Pioneers of grid computing where following
LM
L L. Kleinrock’s vision: “As of now, computers networks are
content.opf
still in their infancy, but as they grow up and become
XHTML SVG XHTML CSS
sophisticated, we will probably see the spread of computer
utilities which, like present electric and telephonic utilities,
will service individual homes and offices across the country”
Figure 1. Structure of an eBook following ePUB3 [7] an cited in [8].
According to the National Institute of Standards and
From an educational perspective, traditional books are more Technology (NIST) [9], the cloud model is composed of five
suitable as tools for behavioral practices of education where essential characteristics: on-demand self-service, broad
students are passive consumers of information. Books act as network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity and
close containers of organized information with limited measured services; three service models: Platform as a
possibilities of active learning. Among these possibilities is Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and
worth mention annotating, an effective and efficient study Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas) and, four deployment
strategy which promotes learners’ active involvement in models: private, community, public and hybrid cloud. It
constructing ideas [3]. includes market-based resource management strategies
eBooks ease lecture comprehension with the inclusion of previously used in Grid computing to guarantee
dictionaries and the possibility of consulting other sources of performance, availability, latency and quality-of-service
information interactively via web. Comprehension is also (QoS) requirements. These requirements are constrained by
facilitated by eBooks capabilities to provide multimodal the availability and capability of resources, performance
information adapted to learners’ perception preferences [4]. measures and costs.
With the advent of eBooks, learners become active actors Cloud computing is a relative new phenomenon and large
in the building of knowledge. Highlighting and annotation companies are still anxious about data failures, slow delivery
acquire a social dimension when combined with cloud of data over a network, and vulnerability of their confidential
computing and web services. For instance, these social information. However, the most relevant eBooks sellers such
features are already provided by Kindle and Kobo. These as Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Inc. offer their
eReaders allow sharing eBook comments and highlights to eBooks services through the Cloud proclaiming the facilities
Facebook and Twitter. to access the book any time, any where and, using any
Learners’ engagement is promoted by interactive portable device. Using the cloud as a distribution platform
capabilities of eBooks. Learners can manipulate virtual has also reduced the books’ prices. Finally, the cloud has
objects, simulation of experiments and on-reading testing also provided a medium to establish communities of readers
receiving the feedback that stimulate active reflection. Apple as in Kobo Inc.
has been the pioneers integrating interactivity into their The educational sector is starting to embrace cloud
iBooks textbooks. computing. An initial overview of the use of cloud
Models of instructional design that promote deep computing in education has been presented by N. Sultan at
learning establish that (1) learning is a product of [10]. In the study, the Washington State University’s School
understanding; (2) understanding occur best through of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and schools
performing tasks and (3) learning is a social activity [5]. of Kentucky’s Pike County district are mentioned as
These three factors can be fulfilled by eBooks with current examples of institutions which use cloud platforms
technology. However, further efforts are necessary to turn (cSphere4 and IBM data center respectively) to reduce costs.
the eBook into an integrated learning environment where Amazon Web Services is been used to support peaks of
students be guided in meaningful activities and the social workload of the course “Software Engineering for SaaS” of
construction of knowledge will be not only allowed but the University of California At Berkeley. Google Apps is
actively promoted. been used at the University of Westminster and several
African schools to rely on the latest technology and reduce
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1st International Workshop on Cloud Education Environments (WCLOUD 2012)
costs. Thus, education institutions seem to be opened to this Data Layer. The type of assets that a user can include in the
new paradigm. Data Layer will depend on permissions granted.
The Integration Service enables the customization of
IV. USAGE SCENARIO eBooks. An eBook will include not only learning assets but
Omar, María and David are starting the module “People also information related to students’ profiles, team
and Societies” in their History course. They live in different organization as well as the context and particular needs of
districts in Madrid and belong to three different schools the course. Students’ profiles refer to students learning style,
which are using our eTextBook service to support the course. perception style and special difficulties. Team organization
Omar, María, and David are Muslim, Catholic, and Jewish will determine who should share what assets. Context will be
respectively. useful to choose contents relevant to a student community.
As a pilot experience, Omar’s teacher coordinates the The Integration Service is possible thanks to the scripting
“People and Societies” module and customizes the capabilities offered by ePUB3, with previous ePUB releases,
eTextBook for all the three classes involved. She decides to this service is not feasible.
include the basic content provided by the publisher along
with multimedia assets produced by last year students about Data Layer
popular music of the three cultures involved. This year, these
three classes will be deeply involved in learning about
eBook Layer
religions. Thus, Omar, María, and David will lead in their Resource
Administration Integration
respective classes the organization of relevant information. Service Allocation
Service
Service Learning assets
Each school will augment their eTextBooks with the
consensual information generated by their students. Finally,
Omar’s teacher will be responsible for customizing the final
eTextBook for all the community. C1 C2
Students work in their assignment in class using the Data directory
Core Layer Information Security
eReaders provided by the schools, and at home using their Service Service
smart phones. All devices have access to our service through Analytics Communication
a public cloud infrastructure which guarantees content Service Service
accessibility.
Users’ records
Finally, education authorities in Madrid decide to use
eTBS for this History course in all schools in Madrid. The Figure 2. eTBS architecture
scalability of the pilot is guaranteed by the use of a
commercial cloud computing platform.
C. Core Layer
V. ETBS ARCHITECTURE This layer provides essential cloud services for any
The eTBS architecture proposed herein is a four-tier eBook such as the Security, the Information, the Analytics,
architecture with a Presentation layer where the client is a and the Communication services as well as a set of services
eBook reader based on Readium, the eBook Layer allows required by the learning community.
users to access the eTextBook service, the Core Layer with a Core Layer is also possible thanks to the scripting
set of general-purpose services and the Data Layer to handle capabilities of ePUB3.
learning assets and students’ records. This architecture is D. Data Layer
depicted in Fig. 2 and offers a complete service to customize
The Data Layer contains the learning assets that can be
eBooks using a public cloud infrastructure.
included in an eBook (Learning assets); data about the users
A. Presentation Layer of the application (Users’ records) as well as the organization
Students will access their electronic text books though of the data (Data directory).
the Readium eReader which is based on ePUB3, the third Learning assets encompass not only text and images as in
major release of the standard ePUB for digital publications any traditional book or eBook but also, multimedia elements
and documents. ePUB3 has features to embedded audio, such as video, audio, and 3D interactive objects that are
video, scripting and interactivity within eBooks that might beginning to appear in eBooks. Unlike current eBooks,
cause a significant impact on learning. learning assets are stored as low-granularity units along with
metadata in the Learning assets area.
B. eBook Layer Data about users (students, teachers and editors) is stored
Users interact with the services of the application through in the User’s records area along with metadata that allows for
the eBook Layer. Users might include new learning assets by the structuring of the data as information for services. For
using the Resource Allocation Service and customize the instance, metadata includes users’ security permissions and
eBooks with the Integration Service. students’ grading.
System administrators grant users’ permissions through Data included in the Learning assets and Users’ records
the Administration Service whereas the Resource Allocation areas are structured in the Data directory area in order to be
Service allows users to include new learning assets in the recovered according to users’ requirements in the context of
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1st International Workshop on Cloud Education Environments (WCLOUD 2012)
core or eLearning services. For instance, learning assets are ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
organized as dependency trees and all the assets referring to This work was partially supported by the State of Madrid
a specific learning topic can be accessed and then selected (Spain) under the contract number eMadrid S2009/TIC-1650
according their tags; students can be organized by courses (e-Madrid) and EEE CICYT TIN2011-28308-c03-1.
and (or) working teams.
We thank Florina Almenárez for encouraging us to write
the paper and for comments that greatly improved the
E. eTBS Architecture in the Cloud manuscript.
We are using the ePUB3 standard for structuring the
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