What is an e-book?
Join Gabriel Powell, a prominent eBook author at Lynda.com, says in his in-depth video discussion, “Not too long ago the notion of downloading a paperless book from a website and reading it on a small hand-held device was just a dream. But now that thousands of eBooks are being downloaded every day, what once was a dream is now a reality. In fact, the publishing industry has experienced such a dramatic change as a result of the exploding eBook market that you could easily say that we are at the beginning of a publishing revolution.”.
Powell continues, “So what exactly is an eBook? The term eBook is short for electronic book. It’s the digital equivalent of a traditional printed book. Now when I say eBook, I’m not actually referring to a PDF file. The standard PDF format is certainly widely used for eBooks, but within the past couple of years, a new and widely accepted eBook format has emerged, called EPUB. EPUB stands for electronic publication. The EPUB format is a free, open eBook standard that was developed by the International Digital Publishing Forum.”
What is an eCourse?
Sales in eBooks have rapidly grown over the years due to technology and convenience. While eCourses are not as popular yet, the many benefits of eCourses hint they may eclipse eBooks in the realm of teaching.
An eCourse is an even more advanced learning material compared to an eBook. With an eBook limited to texts and occasional photos or illustrations, eCourse includes more than just that. Basically, eCourses include audiovisual presentations, reviewers, personalized notes, documents and other relevant learning materials made by the eCourse administrator. The creativity of the writer is not bound to be just in the texts. It can go over any learning method available and practical for online courses. Sharing the learnings and information for one’s better comprehension in many different ways is just one of the advantages.
An eCourse is a modern way of acquiring quality education. It supports student flexibility as to cost, time and control. Fundamentally, an eCourse is just like college accessible through the Internet. Providing significant information enables the clients to be experts in their chosen field. The good thing is that its availability does not vary together with the time of the day. Any content, when subscribed, is always accessible. If a student wants to review the materials at midnight, then he may do so. eCourses can be accessed anytime anywhere.
Comparing an eBook to an eCourse
In all honesty, comparing an eBook to an eCourse is pointless. It is like differentiating Cheetos and Walmart; eBook being the Cheetos while Walmart represents eCourses. This is mainly because everything that an eBook has can be found at an eCourse. Why settle for plain texts when you can have much more? Therefore, drop eBooks now and subscribe in an eCourse. Why? Read on.
Reasons you should change your eBook into an eCourse
eCourses have more to offer
An eBook is just texts and illustrations alone. Basically, it is like any other printed book available. When confusions arise, the reader has no choice but to clear it out by himself. It can be done through reading a lot more or any other way found applicable. Reading can be a bore at times. And reading a lot more because the information needed is nowhere to be found is frustrating. This is true because most of the time, books are focused only on the general side of the topic. It will rarely contain any information aside from the ones which are directly connected to the topic.
On the other hand, an eCourse is a learner-centered system of education. It is made by the administrators and authors with the users in mind. Each eCourse is a mastered formulation to aid a step-by-step process of learning. It starts from the building blocks going up to the most complex necessary information. The sequence of lessons is articulated to provide easy comprehension. The materials accessible through an eCourse is already a compilation of different ideas from different books. Therefore, it will feel like holding tons of books using one hand.
Better tools for learning
In an eBook, the user is bound to read and nothing else. Broadly speaking, it is only for those who love to read. In reality, not everyone can go straight hours reading. Only few can do such thing. These make it hard for comprehension to come in. When boredom strikes, the tendency is to stop reading. It is important to maintain the attention of the users. Since both eCourses and eBooks are accessible primarily using a mobile phone or laptop, a lot of distractions that varies from social media to games are competing against reading.
An eCourse, on the other hand, is full of diversity. The learning materials are not limited to reading alone. Audio-visual presentations are available for those who prefer to watch and listen for learning. Another good thing in AVP’s is that the user can control it; repeating parts which are unclear and skipping areas which are already understood. Documents and reviewers are also available for those who love to read. There are also interactive activities that can sharpen the thinking and learnings of the students. In an eCourse, you will have the freedom to choose what learning method is effective and right for you.
Communicate directly with the readers
The users of eBooks have a very low probability of being able to communicate with the author. After the purchase of an eBook, clients are left alone for themselves. Buyers giving questions to the authors is not a normal event except when there are conferences or books signing activities. Unclear portions of learning should not wait for these events to occur. It is also very impractical. If they have a query, the best thing to do is to research it for themselves using other available materials.
The case is not the same in an eCourse. Messaging systems are used. Therefore, clients and eCourse administrators may have interactions regarding any issue or concern connected to the learning process. This increases comprehension and clears out any unclear point in the eCourse. Conversation is great activity for it will fortify the trust of the users to the eCourse.
So, should you change your eBook into an eCourse?
The answer is definitely yes. Using an eCourse is just like using an eBook; except that more references are available, there is a proven learning formulation, clients may be able to contact the eCourse authors, and choices as to learning methods are available. Why bother settling for less when you can have more? Switch to an eCourse now!
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