Shade, B. (2011). Pocket ECGs A Quick Information Guide. McGraw Hill, New York, USA: 155pp. ISBN- 978–0–07–351976–0
Introduction
The Electrocardiograph (ECG) pocketbook above was originally designed as a hard copy quick-reference compendium for the clinician in the field and as such lends itself to being reproduced in electronic form. This review focuses on the 2011 edition which is an early foray into e-books by publisher McGraw Hill, and as such the version offers limited affordances to the reader.
Initial review
Author, Bruce Shade, is an experienced clinician who has judiciously utilised high definition images to supplement his quick and easy to read pocket guide. The text condenses and simplifies information from large tomes without losing accuracy and achieves the purpose of an in-field reference for the busy paramedic or clinician.
The e-book version reviewed sits firmly in the categories of ‘traditional literature electronically re-contextualised’ (Unsworth, 2006), ‘traditional literature re-presented in digital forms’ (Walsh, 2012) or a very basic ‘e-book’ (Hicks, 2014) due to the lack of affordances. These classifications are determined while assessing the e-book using a method adapted from the work of (Mune & Agee, 2015) on academic publishers platforms and (Parrott, 2011).
Below is the list adapted from (Mune & Agee, 2015), (Parrott, 2011)
| User perspective affordance | Does not contain | Fails to meet expectations | Meets expectations | Exceeds expectations |
| Layout considerations | ||||
| Layout provides an exact view of the whole text. | ✔ | |||
| Content changes to fit the device being used (Page reflow zoom range and increments of change). | ✔ | |||
| Text considerations | ||||
| Font size, colour and style adjust. | ✔ | |||
| Background colour changes to suit reader experience in a variety of environments. | ✔ | |||
| Letter and line spacing adjust. | ✔ | |||
| Search/Navigation considerations | ||||
| Includes navigable table of contents. | ✔ | |||
| Ability to navigate to a page number. | ✔ | |||
| Ability to navigate forward and back. | ✔ | |||
| Ability to forward and return to table of contents by chapter or section. | ✔ | |||
| Hyperlinks to other resources open in another window or includes return navigation. | ✔ | |||
| Annotation considerations | ||||
| Text is easily highlighted. | ✔ | |||
| Text is easily bookmarked. | ✔ | |||
| Reader ability to make text notes. | ✔ | |||
| Reader ability to make audio notes. | ✔ | |||
| Text-to-speech considerations | ||||
| Text is readable with a screen reader. | ✔ | |||
| Includes adjustable reading speed setting. | ✔ | |||
| Includes adjustable reading voice settings. | ✔ | |||
| Includes highlighting as text is read. | ✔ | |||
| Language support | ||||
| Text contains a dictionary and thesaurus. | ✔ | |||
| Text includes word/phrase pronunciation assistance. | ✔ |
| User perspective affordance | Does not contain | Fails to meet expectations | Meets expectations | Exceeds expectations |
| Media considerations | ||||
| Images captions and alternative text are readable. | ✔ | |||
| Decorative images do not contain alternative text. | ✔ | |||
| Table/s caption/s are readable by column and row. | ✔ | |||
| Table/s navigation displays in the natural reading order. | ✔ | |||
| Video is synergistic with text. | ✔ | |||
| Other augmentation affordances are synergistic with text. | ✔ | |||
| Printing and exporting considerations | ||||
| Text requires secure sign-in. | ✔ | |||
| Ability to print sections/chapters or the whole text. | ✔ | |||
| Ability to print their notes | ✔ | |||
| Ability to email their notes | ✔ | |||
| Ease of use | ||||
| User interface | ✔ | |||
| Suitability for curriculum | ||||
| Engages multiple learning styles | ✔ | |||
| Resource content shelf-life | ✔ | |||
| Resource file format | ✔ | |||
Final review
Essentially, this is a PDF copy of the textbook version, but this in itself does not detract from the text, and it’s usefulness. Elements which have enhanced reader usability include:
- The ability to zoom into images to over 600% without loss of clarity. This feature allows for intricate assessment of the ECG and is an improvement over traditional text.
- The ability to highlight, bookmark and make text notes allows clinicians to add information specific to their employment context.
Some affordances which are missing do not detract from the text. For example, the no text-to-speech capacity does not detract as the style of book does not lend itself to being read aloud. Others, such as the ability to print the text and notes is neither attractive or detractive from the e-book, while the capability to only email notes by sending the whole document is cumbersome.
The large detractor in affordance for me is the issue of no indexed table of contents. This lack of navigability slows information gathering and may prevent just in time learning in the clinical setting by those who need it most. Along with this are the inability to adjust fonts and colour scheme, although, the text style, (but not images) does meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (W3C, 2018).
Overall, placing the issues mentioned above aside, the text is useful and synergistic with it’s intended audience, and at the time of purchase, the e-book version reviewed was included in the traditional textbook price. It displayed consistently on any smartphone, tablet or computer limiting accessibility issues, (Selwyn, 2016) and the content shelf-life is long. The e-book is suitable for multiple units (including industry placements) within diploma and undergraduate studies and will form part of the recommended readings.
References
Hicks, T. (2014). Enhancing our eBook Experiences. Retrieved from http://www.digitalrhetoriccollaborative.org/2014/01/21/enhancing-our-ebook-experiences/#prettyPhoto
Mune, C., & Agee, A. (2015). Ebook Showdown: Evaluating Academic Ebook Platforms from a User Perspective. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2015/Mune_Agee.pdf
Parrott, K. (2011). 5 Questions to ask when evaluating apps and ebooks. Retrieved from https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2011/07/5-questions-to-ask-when-evaluating-apps-and-ebooks/
Selwyn, N. (2016). Is Technology Good for Education? Oxford: Polity Press.
Unsworth, L. (2006). E-literature for children enhancing digital literacy learning. London ;: Routledge.
W3C. (2018). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/
Walsh, M. (2012). Literature in a digital environment. In A literature companion for teachers (Vol. 34).
