You are cordially invited to the Southern African Online User Group’s (SAOUG’s) ebook talk and workshop on 5 June 2013.
Please indicate with RSVP whether you would like to attend the morning talk only, or the Full Day including the practical workshop in the afternoon.
Ebook talk (morning only) 08h30 – 12h00
Morning Cost: R100 for paid-up members; R300for non-members
Ebook practical workshop (full day) 12h00 – 16h00
Full day Cost: R300 for paid-up members; R600for non-members
PROGRAMME:
Date: Wednesday, 05 June 2013
Venue: Knowledge Commons; CSIR, Pretoria
Maps to the venue will be sent to all delegates, one week before the function
Time: 08h30-12h00 (Morning talk)
12h00-16h00 (ebook practical workshop)
Morning Programme:
08h30-09h00 Registration
09h00-09h10 Welcome and Announcements
09h10-09h45 SANLIC eBooks status quo – Yvonne Halland
09h45-11h00 TALK: Enhancing books in the digital environment – Kosie Eloff
11h00-12h00 LUNCH
About the talk:
When books become digital, they become part of the digital environment — where “enhancement” becomes a function of whatever is possible in this environment. So, asking the question: “What is an enhanced ebook?” is really the same as asking: “What is possible in the digital environment?”
The premise of this talk is to provide an overview of what is currently being done to “enhance” books. Initially, an overview of historical research is given — including the notions of the Memex (Bush, 1945), “multimedia books” and “virtual books” developed in the 80’s-90’s, to more recent metaphors such as “books in browsers” and “born-digital” books. The purpose of this overview is to illustrate how our conception of a book has been investigated by industry and academia, and to demonstrate which technologies played a role in this process.
When practical demonstrations are given, this presentation focuses on the enhancement of eBooks published in the EPUB format, which is the industry standard for constructing, delivering and consuming digital publications. Issues relating to other popular end-formats (such as PDF and MOBI) or platforms (Apple vs. Android, for instance) will be clarified as needed.
This is not a talk dealing with the technical issues of app or ebook production, but a brief overview of these formats will be given if required.
WORKSHOP PROGRAMME (afternoon):
12h00-14h00 Practical workshop: HTML and CSS overview – Kosie Eloff
14h00-14h30 Tea Break
14h30-16h00 Practical workshop: Guided Exercise – Kosie Eloff
About the workshop:
1. Introduction
2. Prior knowledge needed
3. Materials needed
1. Introduction
Synopsis: the purpose of this workshop is for delegates to gain a basic understanding of HTML and CSS. HTML and CSS are languages used to structure and style content intended for electronic publication. The workshop is divided into theoretical and practical work.
This workshop is divided into the following sections:
1) Who uses HTML and what is it used for, especially relating to ebooks? Why should I understand HTML?
2) The structure of HTML: elements, attributes and tags (otherwise known as, the ingredients of HTML)
3) CSS: how to give flavour to HTML (HTML structures content, while CSS styles content)
4) How to create a web page using HTML
5) How to style a web page using CSS
Sections 1-3 will take approximately 20 minutes each.
During sections 4-5, delegates will be given a guided exercise, the overall goal of which is to create one’s first web page. I will be available during this time to provide assistance and encouragement. Delegates are encouraged to work in pairs and to share their discoveries with group members.
2. Prior knowledge needed
Delegates should be comfortable working on a personal computer or laptop. If you’ve worked in a document editing environment before, the practical aspects of the workshop will not present a problem. There are a few technical aspects (such as how to change file associations) that form part of the workshop exercise itself and are hence not required prerequisite knowledge.
3. Materials needed
The only things needed to edit and preview HTML are a text editor and a web browser. Bring alaptop with any operating system (Windows, Mac, and Linux). Every operating system has a text editor and a web browser installed by default, so there is no need to install new software.
You can edit and preview HTML without being connected to the internet. However, an internet connection will be required for you to download files relevant to the exercise. Please ensure that your device is Wi-Fi capable, or otherwise bring a flash disk (we will then load the necessary files on the disk).
Cancellation fee – Please take note: In case of “no-show” or cancellation of less than 7 days before the meeting; you will have to pay the full non-member price
If you are interested in attending, please RSVP before Friday, 31st of May and indicate whether you would like to attend the morning only or the full day workshop.
