• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.9 no.12
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• pp.900-911
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• 2009

This paper analyzes user preferences on the basic structure of digital textbook contents based on the PDF and HTML formats. This was conducted by analysing the data from an online survey on user preferences for the representative structures of the PDF- and HTML-based digital textbook contents that are currently used on the Web. Results show that in the PDF format, the structure with TOC(Table Of Contents) links on the left screen and the main content on the right was most preferred by 82% of the respondents. In terms of the viewing method, the one that presents one page of the textbook fitted to the width of the computer screen in a single-page view was regarded as the best. Similarly, in the HTML format, the structure with TOC links on the left frame and the main content on the right using 2-frames was revealed as the most preferred by 84% of the respondents. However, the structures of the PDF- and HTML-based digital textbook contents employed by most existing Web sites go against the users' preferences. Accordingly, for digital textbook development in the future, user preferences must be considered to allow students to read the contents more easily and conveniently.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.145-152
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• 2018

In electronic textbooks (or e-Textbooks) the traditional paper-based textbooks are enriched with multimedia contents and new features such as interactive multimedia-based simulation, interactive quizzes, and content sharing. It has been envisioned that e-Textbooks will gradually replace the traditional paper-based textbooks in classrooms in the near future. HTML5 is an emerging and promising standard that enables web applications (or apps) to incorporate rich multimedia contents such as video clips, flash movies and simulation-based demonstration, as well as to provide cross-platform functionality which allows the apps to run on a diverse range of platforms. To support rich multimedia contents and cross-platform functionality, with respect to HTML5, this paper presents the new features, compares the current trend of mobile apps (e.g., native, web-based and hybrid apps) for e-Textbook development. In order to investigate the suitability of these three development approaches for e-Textbooks, we present a case study on our recent work in developing e-Textbooks using HTML5 and JavaScript, as well as analyses the challenges associated with HTML5 features (e.g, compatibility with web browsers) for developing e-Textbooks.