Shattered iAuthor Dreams

I was floored when I was introduced to iAuthor, Apple's ebook authoring tool.

 photo by Jean Baptiste M, *photo obtained from Flickr Creative Common, available per the license.

 The capabilities are nothing short of amazing, and the possibilities for using iAuthor are endless.  

See for yourself.  Here is a tutorial, for a little taste of iAuthor.

Exciting, yes?

You can add interactive 3D images and objects. Can you add video?  Of course!  What about interactive quizzes?  No problem!  You can even use HTML, so your ibook will never be out of date.  Imagine!

I know what you are thinking - Sounds great, but what does iAuthor cost?

The amazing answer?  The tool is FREE! 

Sadly, though, there is one, giant catch.  Did you catch the catch at the end of the above tutorial?

iAuthor only works on Apple devices.  RATS!  

I did some research to see if this was current information, as the tutorial is from 2012.

Yes, sadly, as far as I can determine, this is still the case.

iAuthor sounds great for a K-12 classroom outfitted with Apple devices, but I am disappointed that someone with a PC computer could not read published iAuthor material.

You can create a PDF version that anyone can use.  Yes, OK, but then you of course lose the best features - the video and interactive components.

iAuthor seemed like the perfect way to have an interactive guide for dog training clients to use while taking a class.  A great way to give them quick, interesting, and most importantly, helpful answers to questions that pop up between classes.  They wouldn't need to wait until the next class session.  They could get helpful answers right away!  

But only if they have an Apple device.  Harrumph!  

One other noteworthy note.  If you plan to sell your book, Apple wants a cut of any sales.
This seems only fair, although some people complain about it.

Interested in reading more about it?  

Read an author's experience using iAuthor.

Happy iAuthoring!

Web 2.0hhhhhh!

I've heard the term "Web 2.0", but didn't really understand what it meant.  My understanding of it is that web 1.0 sites may offer a lot of information, but the 2.0 sites take it to the next level.  That next level can be many different things - such as a learning community, in which the users contribute all of the content.  Sites such as Wikipedia or YouTube are good examples of this type of .  It can also offer a way to interact with others to find out answers to pressing questions, in places such as forums.  While this could lead you in the wrong direction at times, there are so many sources to use in today's web searches, that you can get confirmation of the answer you received at one site by accessing other similar sites.

It really is fascinating to see how the web has changed our everyday lives.  Back in the dark ages, not TOO long ago, one had to go to the library to get reliable information on a certain subject.  Now there is so much information available, the biggest challenge is how to narrow your results, so that you receive only the cream of the crop regarding websites.