- Partner: Mozilla
Mozilla is best known for the Firefox web browser, but the software company that produces Firefox is one piece of Mozilla's broader work in support of the open web. That work includes the development and publication of Learning, Freedom and the Web, a book written by Anya Kamenetz (of Fast Company and DIYU), that tackles crucial questions about the future of learning:
How can the ideas of the open source movement help foster learning? What are the most effective ways to bring learning to everyone? How does openness help the spread of knowledge? Part exhibition catalog, part manifesto, this is a concise, fun-to-read introduction to what Mozilla is doing to support learners everywhere.
Working from these questions led Mozilla to think about the possibilities for publishing a book that went beyond the conventional codex. A book tackling the implications of digital technology and open learning for the education system needed to reflect those developments in both its form and distribution. So it made sense to create not only a print book, but an ebook that could be read on a variety of devices -- and not just read, but experienced in a whole new way.
A team of Emily Carr faculty and students rose to the challenge, investigating different technology options for creating an ebook that would reflect Mozilla's core principles. That meant building an ebook that could work on iPads and Android tablets, desktop computers and smartphones, and that could be distributed for free. A simple PDF was one option, but it didn't take advantage of the navigation and multimedia opportunities a tablet could provide. Working with Vancouver-based development company Steamclock Software, the team recommended building the book in HTML5, Javascript and CSS.
Guided by design professors Jonathan Aitken and Celeste Martin, along with SIM Director Alexandra Samuel, the project relied on the design and technical talents of four undergraduates: Briana Garelli, Justin Alm, Amy Wang and Danielle Hall. Working from the print book design by Chris Appleton, the students created a digital text that related to the look and feel of the printed text, developing a navigation system that made the text both easy to browse and easy to search. They created animated illustrations, embedded videos, and did the majority of the hands-on coding to bring the book to life.
The resulting book went online in late 2011, and will have its official online launch and discussion event on January 25th 2012. (Join us!) For Mozilla, it represents a new channel for supporting their work on an open Internet, and a demonstration of the potential for tablet publishing with open standards.
