www.schoolimprovement.com/products/lumibook • Retail Price: $39-$149 per book
LumiBooks are educational ebooks that include an ongoing conversation with the authors and other readers.
Quality and Effectiveness: Imagine a deep discussion with an esteemed, published expert in the field of teaching. LumiBook offers a growing library of educational ebooks for professional development in the areas of the Common Core, classroom management, assessment, and more. Teachers will benefit greatly from the ability to read, reflect on, annotate, and discuss the conceptual ideas with the author and a community converging around a specific ebook.
Ease of Use: Support materials are thorough and clear. A specific tutorial quickly answers questions related to navigating the ebooks. Ebook titles are listed in an easy-to-read, tile format. Once the ebook is open, the reader can move forward and backward through pages, pause to comment, review comments, highlight a passage, and bookmark a paragraph or page. A help guide on the navigation bar is always available.
Creative Use of Technology: LumiBook takes a giant, creative leap with technology that fosters communication and reflection through community building around the content. The clear navigation system is highly organized and includes colorful icons at the top of each page. The icons also become visible when the cursor hovers over any paragraph, easing the way to annotation, bookmarking, and commenting to the author and community. Some LumiBook navigation buttons are new, but memorable, so readers will gain confidence quickly. Relevant, short, high-quality videos and audio clips enhance the concepts throughout the ebook. Readers can check a box on any page to request an email with the latest author updates. The LumiBook also allows the author to change or add to the book.
Suitability for Use in a School Environment: Teachers must regularly maintain their teaching credentials. If a school encourages this approach, LumiBook offers a unique way to earn credit hours toward annual credential renewal. LumiBook will enrich any existing professional development program if integrated in independent schools or whole districts.
TOP FEATURES
• Rich in content and encourages reflection on every page.
• Easy to navigate and offers multiple ways to interact with an ebook’s concepts.
• Offers a unique opportunity to build community and shape the next version with the ebook’s author.
OVERALL RATING: LumiBook is steps ahead of other ebooks, offering conversations with esteemed authors and the opportunity to build a community of experts around relevant and timely ideas.
