"Many elearning savvy teachers and tutors know how easy it is to give a full screen 60 inch screen show with just a smart phone and pocket projector. However, they have problems finding algebra ebooks and algebra apps that have the content needed for their needs and formatted for use with pocket projectors and digital televisions ..... Mark Stansberry, Author, Very Best Algebra Notes, www.BookMarkTutoring.com
The latest ebook to hit the Amazon's Books is "The Very Best Algebra Notes." With its seemingly non-technology name, one would not suspect that it hits the mark as the ideal algebra elearning tool.
As an elearning tool, it goes several steps above your everyday algebra ebook or app. And its not because the technology it is based on isn't the same or very similar. The fact of the matter its because the way the ebook's been formatted and its content. Unlike many algebra ebooks and apps, the content within it has been formatted so that both the words, graphics and equations scale across different reading devices.
And according to Mark Stansberry, author of the Very Best Algebra Notes, devices scalability means a lot to not only the student but the teacher. "Before I decided on how the book should be laid out for the optimum ebook and slide projector user experience, I examined the layout and formatting of the leading math etextbooks on different devices. These included the iPhone, the Android, a number of tablets and the PC. What I found was that the equations and figures didn't scale with the words from device to device. The most typical problem I came across was smartphone incompatibility. When the book was viewed on a smartphone, the graphics did not scale with the words. This makes many algebra ebooks inefficient to use on smart phones and many smaller size tablets.
To overcome that problem, Mark decided to format the book in what he calls "pagebreak to pagebreak " formatting. With pagebreak to pagebreak formatting, the books pages are guaranteed not to be broken up across pages when a different device is used. " Mark explains though that he used "pagebreak-to-pagebreak" formatting only for the body of the book, the 48 Algebra slides. For the all text sections of the book, the table of contents, summary, and cross-linked index he used standard text-scaled formatting. Mark added that "when a text block does not contain graphics or equations, such as the table of contents or index, there is no need to use pagebreak-to-pagebreak formatting, in fact its counterproductive from a publication point of view. "
The end result was an algebra ebook that could not only be used to review algebra on smart phones and tablets, but one that is very easy to use with pocket projectors and televisions. With "pagebreak-to-pagebreak" landscape formatting and a smartphone with an HDMI port, teachers, students and tutors, can give full screen slide shows that are easy to navigate using their smart phone as a remote control device.
But that's not all that makes this algebra book so great for teachers, tutors and students as an elearning tool. The other side of the story is that the book was designed based on the Common Core State Standards for Algebra 1. This means that teachers and students that use it can be assured that the content covered matches the course material that the common core standards strongly recommend. Which means that students finally have a resource that can be used effectively to score higher on Algebra exams that are given across high schools across the country. To date over 45 states have adopted the common core state standards.
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