On-line Version of Course Book
There is a new and much better way to read the course book on line! ElevenLearning is a startup company in Cambridge, MA, that is creating a new model for textbook publishing that is open-source, collaborative, and does not extort the extravagant charges from students that keep traditional textbook publishers obscenely profitable.
To read the book:
- Go to http://www.elevenlearning.com/sign_up and register for the site.
- After registering, you will see your Bookshelf. Click, “Add a Book”.
- You will see the Introduction to Computing coursebook there (with an ugly Orange cover, not the one you are familiar with). Select it and you are good to go!
You will be able to read the book much more easily on-line using their system than you can using the PDFs. It should also work well on other devices such as iPads and Android tablets. You can also add notes to yourself, and even share notes with other people reading the book. I still encourage you to do most of your reading using a printed copy of the book, but to take advantage of the on-line system for quick access as well as recording and sharing notes.
This is a new system underdevelopment, so the ElevenLearning developers and I will be happy to hear any comments you have about the system.
PDF 
Thanks Professor Evans.
Everyone else: please try it out and tell us what you think, even (*especially*) if you don’t like it. Your feedback will help us make it a better product for you and the classes that follow.
Thanks for your help.
Michael Carmone commented here that a search-in-book feature would be useful.
Overall,the ability Next Section feature is a great touch, especially when dealing with large amounts of information like code definitions. This feature really helps make the textbook easier to read (aside from a find/search feature) than scrolling through a 270 page PDF file (no offense).
I think it could be better with a “find” tool as well as the option to view just the text section in full screen mode if it is possible.
I really like how you can bring up all of your notes in a separate tab.
Although there’s already a side content tab, I think it would be more convenient if there was also a “back” button next to the “forward” at the end of the chapters.
I think uploading the index of the course book online would help. Maybe instead for page numbers though there could just be links to each concept/program or whatever you are looking for. I do like the simple look though, makes it easier to find topics and stay focused.
The Eleven Learning site is definitely an easier interface for reading than reading it from a PDF format. When I read the textbook in a PDF format the scrolling is jumpy and it gets quite irritating after a while. In Eleven Learning the scrolling is smooth and the transitions are fast in “turning” the pages.
Additionally I use another website (Coursesmart) that I use to read other textbooks online. I always buy e-books instead of hard-cover texts when I have the chance because the difference in price is tempting. I also enjoy not having to carry around several heavy textbooks when I need to study. That being said, I’ve been using the Coursesmart website for about two years now. When I compare the format of Coursesmart to the Eleven Learning format, Eleven Learning comes out on top for several reasons. One, it is far easier to add books; the coursesmart website puts you through a series of obnoxious steps before they let you view the book. Also the transitions between pages are faster in EL and the note-taking feature is more user-friendly.
One interesting thing I noticed about EL though is that you can’t be logged into the website from two different browsers simultaneously. Once you log in on another browser it kicks you off the original one, causing you to have to log back in when you return to the original browser. I’m wondering if I tried to log in from two different devices if I would encounter a similar problem. It’s not that big of a hassle to log back in again, but I’m wondering if the system wouldn’t be altogether more streamlined if you could be logged in from multiple browsers/devices simultaneously.
The note-taking feature is great~ I noticed that when you view your notes through the “My Notes” tab, the program tells you in what section of the text your note was taken. However, clicking the text section does not take you to the note itself.
If it were possible to click any one of your notes under “My Notes” and have the program take you to the exact location that note, that would be great~ it avoids the scrolling required to find where on the page the note actually is.
I’m also using coursesmart, and while I agree that Eleven Learning is a much easier to read and take note with, I feel like the offline bookshelf feature of coursesmart would be a good addition to eleven learning. The offline bookshelf feature is basically an option to “check out” or download specific sections of the book. After the chapter has been downloaded, the user can go to the offline bookshelf page on a browser whenever they want and read that section. That way you don’t actually have to be on the internet if you want to read the textbook. This also makes for quicker page turns and such.
All around really useful software. I especially enjoy the tactical highlight feature and like how once text is highlighted in appears in your “My Notes” section. Another feature that stands out to me as opposed to common PDF’s and other online-reading software is the way in which it separates each section into its own page making for easy organization and easy readability. I also think the idea of having a “Sharing” capability is important especially in today’s culture and its demand of social networking.
My only suggestion would be to devise a more comprehensive chapter menu on the left side. It seems like the chapter selection menu on the left should be larger and should not make users scroll through the different chapters.
I do like that it’s very easy to navigate and the notes are great too. But it might be nice to have a chat-room of some kind that allows you to talk to other people in your class.
Going off of the last comment, it would be nice if there was a way to share with other students besides using their email address. It would be nice to have some specific code to use to find your classmates. Also, a darker background might be easier on the eyes for when you’re reading for an extended period of time (it also would save battery). Also, it would be nice to be able to search for a word from the whole textbook, since there’s no index/glossary. From what I can tell, you’re only able to “find” words that are on the page you’re currently reading.
I think a ‘search’ feature that would find a word/topic within the text would be a very helpful addition. The lack of the ability to search through the text has been my only disappointment so far in reading the book through Eleven Learning. The highlighter and note features are very nice. I like that you can choose exactly what text you want to highlight, and that when you make a note, it is tied to a particular section and chapter of the book.
The navigation’s great!
Please don’t attempt to please the masses by adding a bunch of tricks and features. Simple is best. This is a site for reading textbooks, not necessarily to focus on entertainment.
The Eleven Learning website is very user friendly. I think the options are clearly displayed so you don’t have to spend time trying to find the tools before you start studying. Although, it would be nice if the Table of Contents side bar extended to adjust to your screen, allowing you to see as much of the table as possible. Also, regarding comments, instead of deleting a comment by erasing the contents then saving it, I think it would be easier if there was just a delete button or “X”. Also, I think the text is a good size to read, but I wish there was a zoom feature to make some images smaller so I could have more text on the screen while viewing the image/diagram.
Intro:
The basic layout of notes on the right and text on the left could potentially prevent chaos and cluttering (Once sorting and overlaying of multiple long notes is sufficiently addressed.) I understand that the software is very new, and I commend on the development; I always welcome new players. I also understand the revolutionary aspect shall be the sharing features. However, the interface also needs to be a full-fledged reading platform, otherwise it may just become a space for posting questions in an interesting way, and not a better way to make textbooks. In the current state, for me, the interface lacks too many features, and is too inflexible to even consider it as my primary digital reading platform. I may find the interface sufficient for reading the latest romance novels (that’s what I do), but not for scholarly reading (or any active reading for that purpose). The absolute deal breakers for me are: not enough colors and options for highlighting and annotating, no search, no android and mobile support.
Feature that could be cool, (and that I don’t get with pdf): audio notes. Dictation.
I wish you a good luck and happy development.
Some details:
Annotation
Absolutely essential. Any technology trying to push scholarly reading into the digital world needs seamless integration of annotating tools. (Haven’t found anything perfect yet; some are on the right track. I’m completely leaving aside the fact that annotating tools should ideally be implemented within the internet browser, or, even better, at the level of operating system.)
I find the annotating tools available too inflexible. One, I’d like to be able to have as many notes per paragraph as I want; not just one. Second, the highlighting tool needs more colors. Third, there needs to be options for exporting and summarizing comments and highlights. It would also be nice to be able to access the most recent notes etc.
Sidenote/ bug: There are currently issues with displaying long notes. When one hovers over a really long note, it displays as one row running to the right of off the screen…
Searching
No comments needed. Options should include fulltext search, chapter search, search in notes and highlights.
Portability
One of the advantages of having files in the cloud is supposedly portability. I should be able to access the text and my notes anywhere. It should also be possible to read the text on variety of appliances, such as e-readers, or at least tablets. Since the elevenlearning site is not compatible with mobile devices, it cannot be used on tablets. I was able to load the site and access some parts of the text on an android device (I tried 2 different devices, both gingerbread; I tried both mobile and desktop mode of browsing, with various browsers.), but all the annotating features were unusable.
All the Best.
The best feature in this program is definitely the note taking/highlighting feature. One thing that really impressed me was the fact the once I take notes, there is a separate section just for the parts of the books I took my notes on. One thing I might add to make this on-line version is a bookmarking feature. This way if a reader is in the middle of a chapter or section and does not have time to finish, he or she can be taken straight to line they left off at without having to search through the chapter again and reread material.
There are 3 main things that I really liked about this website:
1. The size of the text is fantastic. Personally, I like the fact that it is big enough for it to be an easy read even on a small computer.
2. The font of the text is also very clear
3. I deeply appreciate the fact that the website keeps track of what page you were on after you log off. I always have trouble remembering what page i was on, and this makes it so much easier.
Some improvements:
1. It would be awesome if there was a “find” key that would allow you to go back to a certain page number or that would allow you to search for certain words that you can go back to and review.
2. It would be nice if there was a “pen” feature along with the highlighter feature. Sometimes i like to circle things and put arrows or other symbols that would connect certain words or phrases.
Overall, I think the best quality about the website is its simplicity!
There are 3 main things that I really like about this website:
1. The size is great. It is big enough for the words to be an easy read even on a small computer.
2. The font makes the words very clear.
3. I like that the website remembers what page you were on after you log off. Personally, this is great because I often have trouble remembering what page i ended on.
Improvements:
1. It would be nice is there was a “find” key that would allow you to go back to a certain page or that would allow you to search for words within the text.
2. It would also be nice if there was a “pen” button along with the highlighter feature. Sometimes I like to use arrows or circles to connect certain words or phrases.
Overall, the best feature about this website is its simplicity!
I think it’s a really cool set-up. It’s really nice having the notes section so you can have a nice summary. I wasn’t expecting the highlighted section to show up in the notes so that was nice as well although it might not need the whole paragraph that it came from but rather just the highlighted portion. If you highlight a lot your “my notes” section will end up almost being the same as the normal book.
Also, I was surprised there was no back button at the bottom but rather only a next. I would definitely include a back button because at first it took me a minute to figure out I could go to individual sections on the tabs on the side.
Last suggestion, it may be easier if in the add note box there was something you could click on to add common symbols. If this program is being used for math and computer science books often this could make it more convenient when writing notes rather than spelling it out every time
Hi, Coach! I like this website a lot. It is very convenient, and simplicity is a huge plus. I like the TOC, and I find the book easy to read. I also love that it remembers my page. In terms of critiques, I know some of what I’m about to say has already been said, but I guess it’s at least worthwhile to know that several people agree on certain things.
A search feature would be really, really helpful; if not, then an index or a glossary or something to help locate key words.
The notes could be improved by allowing for more control of the spacing/formatting, fonts, sizes, bold/italics/underline, etc. It doesn’t have to be fancy; it would be enough to have all the capabilities of the body of an email.
A back button would be really nice, too.
Also, it’d be great to be able to mark up the page in other ways, like with a basic pencil tool.
I know that there are reasons for controlling the release of solutions to exercises, but it would be nice to click right to the solution when you’re trying to just check that you understand the material as you go.
There are a lot of other places where hyperlinking could come in handy, such as key words and their definitions, references to figures, etc.
Anyway, it’s still really nice to be able to read the book online, so thanks! I hope my feedback is useful.
One of my biggest pet peeves when reading books online, especially in a PDF format, is the difficulty involved in navigating through the text. It gets to be quite a nuisance having to scroll through pages of material to find a section or chapter you’re looking for. This is one of my favorite things about this program. By allowing readers to pick up at any main point in the text, it simulates the kind of convenient access afforded by bound books.
At a glance, it seems to me that the highlighter tool could be embellished a little. I think the addition of more colors and an underlining function could be an improvement. Color-coding is typically a helpful study practice. But at the same time I have to admire the tool’s austere simplicity and straightforwardness.
The format of Eleven Learning gives the reader easy access to different chapters and sections of the book. Before, I’ve generally neglected online versions of textbooks because of the endless scrolling that always resulted. But Eleven Learning proves to be even more efficient than having the book in your hands. Ruffling through pages and pages of the book to find a section is now simplified into one simple click on the side bar.
What surprised me even more as I experimented with each button on the website was how easy it was to take notes. The portions that you highlight are immediately placed under your notes section which allows you to easily go back to reread important sections. So instead of rewriting the information into a notebook, Eleven Learning does the task for you.
My suggestion to improve Eleven Learning is maybe adding different highlighting colors which then are sorted into different categories in the notes section. This may be useful when the reader is searching for information in multiple areas.
Usually I avoid online versions of textbooks because I hate that I can’t add notes like I can when I have the textbook in front of me, but Eleven Learning makes it easy to take notes, which is great. I really enjoy the notes feature since I am notorious for flying through pads of post-it notes like it’s no one’s business. It is really helpful that the My Notes page shows both the actual note written and the section of the text that the note corresponds to. What I think would also be helpful in this regard is a feature that would allow the user to just place a tab in the text. I often will just place a small post-it near some general section that I want to review later. Perhaps one could specify sections for review, and those sections would appear on a “To Review” page. I think the only way to achieve that now would be either to highlight each entire section that needs to be reviewed, or to write a different note for each individual paragraph in that section, which would be quite a nuisance. Also, this was already mentioned, but it would also be helpful to have different colors of highlighting and notes. This way, one could use one color for, say, concepts they didn’t understand and another color for sections where simply the technical aspects of the material are confusing so that each different sort of misunderstanding could be identified and addressed separately. Also, if the My Notes page were more interactive, allowing for the ability to edit the notes or a quick way to delete the notes other than having to return to the text and then press edit and erasing what is written, this would make the My Notes page more helpful as a place for review, in my opinion.
Besides the notes feature, I very much like the format of the text and the table of contents on the left side of the screen. This makes it very easy to navigate the text. If an index or general search through the text were available, this would be very helpful in quickly finding a specific topic that one is searching for.
All in all, I think that the ElevenLearning site is a very useful tool and has a very smart design. Now it just needs more books!
I usually much prefer reading from a physical book than from text on a computer screen. I feel more likely to get distracted while I am using a computer, and with a real book you can easily write notes in the margins, which helps with comprehension. I usually wouldn’t use Eleven Learning if I already had access to a physical version of the textbook.
However, I do appreciate how it gets rid of the cost of physically producing the books and reduces development costs by using open-source software and crowd-sourcing. The highlighting and note-taking features make reading on Eleven Learning pretty similar to the real thing.
My suggestion would be to add a menu with options for changing the font size, font color, and margin size. The Amazon Cloud Reader for Kindle has a menu like this that I use often.
I really like the “My Notes” feature on the website, it makes it very convenient when going back to look over your notes. However, an additional feature that would also be beneficial that I couldn’t find was highlighting.
Additionally, there is no ‘Back’ or ‘Previous’ button to back a page which would be very helpful on this site. Overall though this online textbook is a useful replacement for the written textbook.
Wow I am glad you had us take a closer look at this Coach Evans-I am going to start using it. I am big into highlighting as I am very visual so I was going to suggest using a highlighter, but lo and behold you can highlight! I really can’t think of any ways to improve this technology other than a. a more decorative website; I am big into aesthetics, ALSO, I find it is helpful for me to draw pictures (i.e cons cells) when I am reading the book, so it would be really cool if there was a way to add notes beyond just the text box. I see that there is an icon for a pencil in the upper left hand corner- but I am unsure how to use it? I just keep clicking on it?
Also, it is maybe just my ineptitude but I cannot seem to undo the highlighting?
All and all very cool though! And environmentally friendly : )
I think overall the ElevenLearning website is pretty user-friendly and easy to use. The highlighter and notes-taking are pretty helpful.
One way to improve the online reading experience might be to include multiple options for font type and font size, as some people might prefer reading in certain font type like “Times New Roman”. In addition, a “find” tool might be very helpful for the reader to locate specific key words or phrases.
Yeah this looks really useful–the plus signs that let you take notes especially so. How many books does this site have? You may have mentioned this before, but are there other texts on here that we can use to help us understand this stuff better?
Thanks everyone! I think you guys have laid out our development plan for the next several months. Of these, I can say that Search and a Back button are up first. (Regarding the back button: we thought we were being clever by keeping the interface hyper-simple. Apparently not.)
One quick note: Hannah, I can answer 2 of your questions. That pencil icon is actually the highlight eraser, not a drawing tool. We’ll try to make that more clear when we redo the icons!
Just a little thing. Typo on 8.1.3 right at the beginning. ” its running time is still scales” I don’t know whether you want us to post typos and stuff on here… but I figured couldn’t hurt.