Digital textbooks are exciting. Digital textbooks look fun. But they can also be a lot of work and a little intimidating at first. Apple has created a simple program titled "iBooks Author" that allows anyone, tech savvy or not, to create beautiful, interactive digital books that any student would love. And the iBooks can be viewed on any iPad or Mac and can be used in conjunction with iTunesU. iBooks aren't just for textbooks either. They can be a great final project for a unit or class, a way to show off a portfolio of work in a unique way, or even a simple starting point for budding authors in your class. A digital book can be a whole textbook, just one unit or chapter, a supplemental resource for a lesson, a culminating project, or even something to share with the community. After creating and publishing my own Algebra 1 textbook, I've learned how to start the process, what to look out for, how to add videos, photo collections, interactive widgets, and review questions, how to submit and publish your book through the iTunes Store, and much more. The most important question to ask yourself when starting to make a book is "what do I want a book to do?". Are you ready to ask that question for yourself?
