Pressbooks - Getting Started with Pressbooks to Author Interactive Content [UW-Madison]

This document outlines how to author interactive Pressbooks content, embed that content in a Canvas course, and links to further documents for more details.

Users can use Pressbooks to author rich, web-first content with images, embedded video, and other interactive elements. Users can also export that content in PDF and EPUB formats. This document outlines how to author interactive Pressbooks content and embed that content within a Canvas course. For more information about Pressbooks and its core book authoring capability, please see Pressbooks - Overview [UW-Madison] .

Using Pressbooks to author interactive modules

While Pressbooks has a lot of exciting features like allowing users to author texts, create interactive content, and embed that content into Canvas, it can take time to learn all details and steps needed to create a product that users are satisfied with. Because of how complex these features can be, we recommend that users new to Pressbooks contact the DoIT Help Desk to request a consultation with the Learn@UW-Madison team before trying out these additional interactive features.

For reference, here are the common steps users take to get started with Pressbooks (and associated KB Documents):

Step 1

If you don't already have a Pressbooks account, you can request one by contacting the DoIT Help Desk.

  • When you request an account, please include your NetID and a brief description of how you plan to use Pressbooks. You will receive an email within 1-2 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

Once you have a Pressbooks account you can start creating content.

Step 3

Once you're ready to embed your Pressbooks content withing Canvas, you can follow the instructions in these documents to export your Pressbooks content and import it into your course:

If you have questions about Pressbooks or would like to request a consultation, please don't hesitate to contact the DoIT Help Desk.