Pilgrims News: Ourboox
If you've always wanted to publish your own ideas and you're brimming with ideas after your course at Pilgrims - we have the perfect FREE solution for you - to get your book with your ideas published!
You can publish books, withe video, pictures etc. - for free! Perfect for all HLT readers!
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Ourboox: What is it?
Why is Ourboox free and devoid of advertising?
What can the students write about?
How does Ourboox benefit teachers?
What is the goal?
How to go about publishing?
www.Ourboox.com is the world's simplest free platform for creating page-flipping e-books. Students can carry out practically any assignment using this unique book format. They give the book a title, add photos and illustrations (jpeg, png and gif are all fine), embed active videos, maps, puzzles and games and share the book via its URL. Here is a book illustrating a few of the things teachers and pupils can do, using the platform.
www.ourboox.com/books/ourboox-for-teachers-and-teaching-3/
Teachers can use the website to share their own stories, lesson plans and auxiliary material. In the near future they will be able to receive remuneration for their e-books.
Ourboox is funded by Mel Prof. Mel Rosenberg and his wife Shuli. The money comes from royalties accruing from his invention of the two-phase mouthwash (known in the UK as Dentyl). Both Mel and Shuli are writers and dreamed of a platform which gives adults and children an opportunity to become authors, using the simplest platform possible. Ran Shternin (co-founder and CTO) is the web developer genius who made it all possible.
Practically everything - there are currently 97 genres! They can write about their culture, their hopes and dreams, their favorite things, a trip they took or would like to take. They can write a book about their city of birth and embed a moving Google Map (it’s almost as magical as Harry Potter). They can write about their favorite band and embed a video clip which plays inside the book. They can write about someone in their family and embed a video or audio interview. They can even write a book review. Books can comprise a single language or any combination of languages. The possibilities are almost endless.
Ourboox allows students to take ownership of their writing and content and become enthusiastic authors of their own books. We call this "reverse literacy" – encouraging students not only to read the books of others, but to create and share their own books as well.
In the near future, students will be able to create their own short books on the Ourboox platform, print them out on a single sheet of A4 paper, and fold them to create their own "itsybooxTM" – pocket books which can be shared with family and friends, alongside the digital version. You can print out a sample minibook now by visiting www.itsyboox.com
In many ways. First, it provides an exciting free platform in which students can achieve self-expression in the English language. The books are live and can be corrected and augmented at any stage. Teachers can create a single account in which each student in the class can author one or more books under supervision. Classes in different countries can join forces to write books together (for example: www.ourboox.com/books/etwinning/).
Further, teachers who wish to share their own educational materials can do so with ease on the Ourboox platform (see for example www.ourboox.com/books/log-unit-the-road-not-taken/)
As mentioned, teachers will soon be able to receive remuneration for their content via contributions to their PayPal account. This will enable educators (and other professionals) to share content freely, and at the same time benefit financially from their efforts.
We hope that in future, teachers around the world will create thousands of books which can be shared and read freely, especially in areas where buying textbooks is beyond the reach of many families.
Ourboox makes books come true. We believe that everyone should be able to create and share content freely in picture book format. Many writers and illustrators publish on the website to help them gain a wider audience (almost 70% of our readers discover books via search engines). Educators around the world and their students create content which the world can read and enjoy (we feature the best books on our homepage).
By the end of 2017, we plan to have 50,000 books, and over 100,000 by the end of 2018. In 2019? Who knows, perhaps a million or more. A world of authors and readers, sharing a simple, fun, interactive and educational platform.
Ourboox.com allows you to create a free page-flipping illustrated e-book in just a few steps: Sign in, give your book a title, and then add content - any page allows you to add either text or a picture (jpeg or png). Don't forget to SAVE. You can also click on the source code icon (<>) and embed videos, interactive maps, games and puzzles, and more. Click on the "cover & info" tab to add your cover photo, write a few words about your book and select one or more genres. That's it! Share your book via its url, and edit it at any time. We have a resource book that explains it all, with video tutorials as well: www.ourboox.com/books/how-to-create-books-on-ourboox-resource-catalogue/ For any questions, feel free to contact Prof. Mel Rosenberg at mel@ourboox.com
Please check the Pilgrims courses at Pilgrims website.
Please check the How to be a Teacher Trainer course at Pilgrims website.
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