Introduction
Pressbooks is an open source, web-based authoring platform. And when you unpack the name a bit you start to understand what is – the “Press” part being that it is built on the WordPress web content creation platform, and the “books” portion in relation to that it was originally developed, and largely is used for, publishing open online books. And although the platform divides the organizational structure of the resource into Parts and Chapters – Pressbooks can be used for so much more. For the purposes of this module, we will focus on open textbook publishing, but keep in mind that some wonderful examples of open online learning materials developed via Pressbooks that tap into its flexible and easy-to-use interface.
You don’t need to know anything about book design or ebook development: Pressbooks has been built to handle all the details for you, and let you focus on the creation! Pressbooks is supported by eCampusOntario, who has made it freely available for all Ontario post-secondary educators, learners, and staff to create and adapt open textbooks. Let’s look at some of the key features of Pressbooks:
- Write once, publish many: Pressbooks makes it easy to export well-formatted publications in multiple outputs (PDF, EPUB, and more)
- WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Editor for familiar creation: Creating right in Pressbooks is similar to creating a Word document with a bit more fun added into the mix
- Easily clone other openly licensed content created in Pressbooks to adapt for any teaching and learning context
- Accessible: Web-based resources built in Pressbooks are by default designed to be accessible and compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies. Keep in mind there are other key elements you need to consider when creating to make your resource more accessible and inclusive.
- Easily add users with various roles and permissions to enable collaboration on a resource
- Familiarity of the traditional textbook, but with the ability to move the medium forward and become more of a learning environment