8 Emerging Publishing Tools
Isaac Mulolani
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this chapter, the reader should be able to
- Identify alternative publishing tools for OER
- Describe the features of each tools useful for publishing
- Compare the list of features in each of these tools
Up to this point, we have discussed a number of tools ranging from word processors (commercial and open-source) and several open-source tools that have been around for a while. In this chapter, we will describe a select group of emerging tools that are growing in use. In particular, we will look at Pressbooks, EdTech Books, LibreTexts, Ximera and PreTeXt.
All of these tools are open-source options although PressbooksEDU is provided as a paid subscription to many institutions across the globe. Institutions with the means to do so can install and maintain an open-source instance of Pressbooks that can be connected to other paid subscription networks as well. BCcampus and Concordia University are examples of open-source Pressbooks installations.
Pressbooks
Pressbooks is an open educational resources development platform based on WordPress. The platform is available for a number of different audiences.
| Higher Education Institutions | Faculty Authors | Self-Publishers |
| Build a publishing program on a branded institutional Pressbooks network or get a central network for a consortium of schools. | Take advantage of our suite of EDU features to create books on a shared network. This option is based on a per book fee. | Publish your own novel, monograph, or other text in multiple online and offline formats. |
Table 8.1 Audiences using Pressbooks
From their website, Pressbooks states that they have three products designed by and for educators
- Pressbooks Directory,
- Authoring & Editing Platform, and
- Results for LMS.
Together, these elements form the infrastructure for open publishing.
Key Pressbooks Open Education Features
For each of these, there are specific features of interest to open education users. A document on the 2020-PressbooksEDU-Overview can be obtained from the Pressbooks website.
Pressbooks Directory
One of the most useful features of Pressbooks is making all public books created in the platform available and discoverable in the Pressbooks Directory. This means that both Pressbooks users and non-users can access material, read it on the web and download it in multiple formats. However, only PressbooksEDU users can clone and adapt OER in accordance with its license. The features include:
- Discover New Content – Any open education practitioner can search for open textbooks, course outlines, lab manuals and more. Currently there are over 3,314 texts created using Pressbooks.
- Filter by License – The Directory is a search facility that has several filters. One of these is the ability to search for content by its licence.
- Find Interactive OER – Another filter that the Directory uses for searching is by the number of H5P interactive elements.
- Import Content