Using a book that is in the public domain

[pengyou]

In a couple of months, my students will be reading Jane Eyre.  Is it possible to upload the book (it is in the public domain) to Canvas, and is there some kind of ebook reader on Canvas?

[Bobby2]

Hi @pengyou what a wonderful book to study. 

Immerse reader is built into Canvas, but it depends on how you have the text saved in your course. If the text is on a Canvas page then the immersive reader will read it aloud. 

How are you planning to add it to your course? 

Here is some information about the Immersive Reader in Canvas https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-use-the-Microsoft-Immersive-Reader-when... 

Sing out if you need a hand. 

[kmeeusen · Accepted solution]

Hi pengyou

Canvas does not have an E-Reader built in. Microsoft's Immersive Reader, will only offer text-to-speech for text you have added to Canvas, but will not act as a E-book repository.

Unfortunately, I do not think there is an E-Reader app available for Canvas, either! There is a discussion about this at Embed a textbook in Canvas?,  

The only real available option, as far as I know, is to upload a PDF version of the e-book. Perhaps others in this Community will have a better solution.

Kelley

[paul_stisser]

Hi @pengyou,

ReadSpeaker offers different solutions to address these everyday initiatives.  First, ReadSpeaker offers a browser extension, the most popular is the Google Extension.  This was created to support complex content, for example, iFrames in Canvas.  This is available in different ReadSpeaker packages, including ReadSpeaker for Canvas with Google Extension.(Force pushed out to all users).  This does read Canvas's new quizzes and Files.  And content outside of Canvas too. 

Or with ReadSpeaker TextAid LTI.  The TextAid LTI, allows the user to select the browser of preference and add it to their browser.  Finally, ReadSpeaker TextAid LTI also has a student personal content library allowing them to drag and drop files into the TextAid library to provide an e-reader.   Plus if you are providing accommodations for students, TextAid allows you to share the file with the selected users dynamically in a Canvas iFrame.  

If you need a single license of ReadSpeaker TextAid, reach out to me and I can share it with you.  

[maguire]

What about converting the book into a set of modules (for chapters) and pages? Then the Immersive reader can be used on each page. One can use the Next and Previous buttons on the pages to move forward and backward through the book. Similarly, one can use the modules view to go to a specific chapter.