Gubbins, K. and Hardwick, S. (2019). Paramedic Education in Paramedic Science: Theories and Application. Class Professional Publishing, Bridgewater, UK: 120pp. ISBN-9781859596708
This e-text distributed by Kortex (a large supplier of digital textbooks) provides a120 page evidence-based discourse on the changing education landscape within the discipline of Paramedic Science and is reviewed in the following post.
Initial review
The e-book was initially reviewed using the Chrome Internet browser, but with limited features enabled in this mode, the reviewer switched to the Kortex IOS mobile application (app). The change in platform increased the user affordances reclassifying the text from e-book to an enhanced book (Hicks, 2014). Specifically, the Kortex application afforded the user audio abilities in the form of speech-to-text. Defining this work using the seminal work of (Unsworth, 2006) resulted in the ‘electronically augmented literary text’ classification and as ‘digital narratives created solely in digital form’ (Walsh, 2012)
While defining where a resource fits into categories is important, assessing the affordances of the text is more so. The method for assessing affordances in the tables below is adapted from (Mune & Agee, 2015).
| 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. | ✔ | |||
| 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
The text elements of this e-book are of high quality and value to the Paramedic educator, but there is no synergy (Walsh, 2012). Enhanced elements fail to meet expectations and detract from the text. Examples include:
- Poorly defined dictionary (defined ‘Ped’ as ‘Performance Enhancing Drug’ rather than the intended ‘Paramedic Educator’).
- Robotic reading voices with the inadequate pronunciation of terms.
- Inability to print notes (readers can use email).
- Tables are not read in sequential order by the screen reader leading to reader confusion.
Some enhanced e-elements also augment text usability. These include:
- Easy navigation which reduces the risk of readers becoming lost. The text is made to be read in non-sequential order with just in time training for Paramedic educators. Given this fact, the easy navigation is an important enhancement.
- While the font styles, letter and line spacing do not adjust, the text does meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (W3C, 2018) and has day, night, and sepia modes for easy reading in different environments..
As with many publishers in the education sector, there is little difference in the price point between the traditional book and the e-book with both retailing for between $40 and $50. Given the affordance failures, I believe the original text is a better investment or is this because of my predisposition to print (Dillon, 1992)?
References
Dillon, A. (1992). Reading from paper versus screens: a critical review of the empirical literature. Ergonomics, 35 (9).
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
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).
