Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - Using Pressbooks to author interactive modules
This document outlines steps needed to author interactive modules with Pressbooks and embed them in a Canvas course.
Pressbooks is software that lets you author books for the web and also in formats like PDF, Mobi, and EPUB. UW-Madison has also invested in developing and integrating plugins with Pressbooks, which allow instructors to create interactive modules with Pressbooks. This document outlines steps needed to author interactive modules with Pressbooks and embed them in a Canvas course. If you are more interested in using Pressbooks for its core book authoring capability please see Pressbooks - Requesting an account and resources to get started (UW-Madison) .
Using Pressbooks to author interactive modules
Using Pressbooks to specifically create interactive content which can be embedded into Canvas and can send grades to the canvas gradebook is still fairly unstable. It requires the user to tie the various pieces together, which include quiz questions and other activities via the H5P plugin, annotations via the hypothes.is plugin, the ability to embed the pressbook as a Canvas assignment via thin common cartridge, grade passback to Canvas via the LTI and other custom plugins, and the ability to request manually generated reports of student activity data from the module. This information is outlined in the steps below.
Because of the number and sources of plugins involved, the interactive components of Pressbooks do not currently have the same level of stability that our other services do. We recommend that users new to Pressbooks request a consultation with the Learn@UW-Madison team by contacting the DoIT Help Desk or contact their local learning technology support before embarking in the use of Pressbooks with these additional interactive features.
- Step 1: Request a Pressbooks account. To request a Pressbooks account, contact the DoIT Help Desk. Please include your netID and a brief description of how you plan to use Pressbooks. You will receive an email within 1 business day to reset your password for your new account. Once you have reset the password, you can sign into Pressbooks at wisc.pb.unizin.org.
- Step 2: Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - Configure Pressbooks and the Learning Locker Learning Record Store (LRS)
- Step 3: Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - How to create interactive content in Pressbooks with H5P
- Step 4: Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - How to export a Pressbook as a Thin Common Cartridge for use in Canvas
- Step 5: Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - Importing a Pressbooks Thin Common Cartridge file into your Canvas course
- Step 6: Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - Manually pushing a grade from Pressbooks to the Canvas gradebook and setting up auto-sync
- Step 7: Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - Requesting Student Activity Data From Pressbooks
If you have questions about the instructions in this document, please request a consultation with a Learn@UW-Madison consultant by contacting the DoIT Help Desk.
See Also:
- Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - Configure Pressbooks and the Learning Locker Learning Record Store (LRS)
- Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - How to export a Pressbook as a Thin Common Cartridge for use in Canvas
- Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - Importing a Pressbooks Thin Common Cartridge file into your Canvas course
- Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - Manually pushing a grade from Pressbooks to the Canvas gradebook and setting up auto-sync
- Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - Requesting Student Activity Data From Pressbooks
- Advanced Content Authoring and Reporting - How to set up annotation in Pressbooks with Hypothes.is