Jisc’s e-books for FE service provides key vocational and A level content to support learners with their coursework. The service also provides key GCSE English and maths textbooks in order to support the further education sector address the government’s agenda of re-sits for learners who have not achieved a grade C in either or both subject. This demonstration will showcase the wide variety of core textbooks being provided, as well as how the e-books can be used by both the teaching practitioner and the learner: either whilst in the classroom or for independent study at home.

1. How to get the most out of the ebooks for FE service
Suba Dickerson and Lucy Khennache, UxbridgeCollege
Catherine John, Jisc

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Session objectives
>The aims of the session
>To share knowledge of the features of Ebook Central
(e-books for FE)
>To share good practice in relation to ebooks for FE
>To ensure that all colleges are able to use ebooks effectively
within teaching and learning
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Importance of ebooks for FE in Induction
>Part of whole college induction
>Embedded within the college’sVLE
>Accessed 24/7. Many users access ebooks for FE off site; mobiles
and tablets - appeals to learners
>High profile in Moodle - ebooks separate icon
>Embedded within courses
>Linked to online catalogue
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Access - teaching and learning
>Key to high usage - how it is accessed
>High access due to embedded in courses
>Study skills sessions - emphasize use of ebooks for FE and how it
helps with courses
>Students like the fact that is free
>User friendly – not difficult to use
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Impact in teaching and learning – A practitioner’s perspective
>Used in a variety of subjects at Uxbridge College
>Linked to course content and assignment briefs
>Used in both homework and in taught lessons
>Practical example of student assignment: BTEC level 3:
Business - Lucy to input
>Demo of use of Ebook Central
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How our students have benefited from ebooks for FE
> The type of students we have especially from a BTEC perspective are not the
typical student carrying their books to school in their bags.They often come with
no bag or a very small one that fits their necessities
> The demographic of our students is also often first in the family and lower
socio-economic groups
> As a result of this although they very much require the input of textbooks they
are unlikely to buy a book – for example the Level 3 textbook for Business is
currently priced at £18.00 plus
> So to play to our students needs and requirements ebooks first and foremost
allows easy access anywhere they want, they do not have to carry or return any
heavy books or pay for them, which is a huge draw for our cohort
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How our students have benefited from ebooks for FE
> Now that we have been doing the new BTEC First at Level 2 and that this is
shortly to be rolled out to the Level 3, access to ebooks will be invaluable to all
students that will need to be able to revise on a regular basis
> The easy access has allowed students that I have worked with to have a far
greater understanding of the work set and create far better assignments
> It also means that those that may miss a session, along with the use of Moodle,
can easily access through a few clicks resources to allow them to read around
what has been delivered in the session so that they can catch up
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How our students have benefited from ebooks for FE
> With regard to the actual work I have seen students use ebooks to reference easily and
know how to reference properly which will be invaluable for when they go onto University
and are required to do this all of the time
> Students find ebooks application simple for example the “Search” Function to look for key
topics and the ability to highlight as they read, which they can then refer back to quickly
when creating their assignments
> A final point is that many of the students we have come from an ESOL background and
they struggle with key terms. In the past they may have asked Google and come back with
some interesting interpretations. However with the “Highlight and Click” tool on ebooks,
students can highlight a term in seconds and information will be provided to them that will
help them expand on their knowledge of that term, which again helps their understanding
and at the end of the day creates a far better submitted assignment for us as teachers to
be able to read and understand. Now I will demonstrate how ebooks could be used with an
example ESOL student in mind
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You can highlight different
words in various highlighter
colours – good for ESOL
learners that may want to
remember a term they have
never come across before.

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You can select a search for a keyword that
you have been asked to research for a piece of
coursework and it will indicate the exact page
to look on and the sentence it fits into – again
bringing clarity for an ESOL learner and showing
examples and context.

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An ESOL learner will often see a word
and never take the time to get a
dictionary out or ask a question as to
what something may mean.
Often Google translate will be used
which can be less than reliable – this
function means words can be defined,
explained and the student can then link
to a video or image on the web that
maybe able to help them.

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Notes for the learner can also be
added in to help them remember key
areas or to refer to another section in
the book which again helps with their
depth of knowledge of the subject
and ultimately the depth of
knowledge reflected in their
assignment work.

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Improved study skills
>Helps students with referencing skills - use of citing –
very useful for level 3 students
>Encourages students to browse for other resources –
pictures show what other resources there are available
>Encourages blended learning and independent learning –
key assessment for learning tool forOFSTED
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English and Maths
>A large variety of new resources has been purchased
for English and Maths
>These encompass the majority of exam boards
>These are mainly work books and revision guides
>Example - A student is having his/her maths GCSE - this learner
could be supported by ebooks for FE
>Just think how you could use ebooks for FE?
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