Teachers customize content for their students, from showing video clips to creating presentations. However, there has not been an easy way for teachers to create interactive content. Worksheets, websites, and are static–students only consume the content. iBooks Author allows teachers to create engaging content that meets the needs of their students. As with standard textbooks, you can add text, tables, shapes, and charts to iBooks. Since iPads are multi-touch, students can interact with the book through widgets. Interactive objects include galleries, presentations, video, interactive diagrams, and quizzes to the book. iBooks Author has templates for a quick start, and supports drag-and-drop, making creation simple.
iBooks Author makes it easy to create simple textbooks to support Common Core language arts standards. When students highlight and take notes in iBooks, study cards are automatically created. Each glossary term can be viewed as a study card with vocabulary words and definitions to enhance the progressive development of reading comprehension. Sample iBooks include: annotated samples of student writing; iBooks where students collaborate to answer questions; kindergarten phonics book; student-created iBook of poems; figurative language (examples and videos); high school english study guide.
iBooks Author serves as an invaluable tool to make Common Core math standards come alive. Students need to apply mathematical ways of thinking to real world issues; teachers can create a simple iBook for each standard. Sample iBooks include: identify shapes; photo book of groupings (multiplication) with drag-to-target review questions; compare volume of 3-D objects; show real-life examples of parabolas through videos and photos.
