BIOZONE eBooks Update - October 2020
29th October 2020
Hi there! It’s been a while since we last caught up.
The team here at BIOZONE have been incredibly busy over the past few months improving our BIOZONE eBooks platform based on all the feedback that we have received from you all.
A huge thank you to everyone who submitted feedback to us! This is incredibly helpful to know exactly what our teachers want and need to assist in their teaching.
Check out our latest updates below!
Table of Contents
New eBook Formats
We are delighted to announce the release of our new eBook formats, the eBook LITE and the eBook PLUS.
Check out the availability of these formats here!eBook LITE
Our eBook LITE is a low-cost solution for schools to access their BIOZONE materials. This version is available for all BIOZONE titles but does not contain the interactive elements found within our eBook PLUS.
Available for all BIOZONE titles our eBook LITE is a digital copy of the printed title with the added bonus of:
- Text-to-speech translation
- Simple drawing tools
- Select text i.e. color highlight, dictionary definition, access Google search, access Wikipedia lookup
- Add notes
Perfect for districts and schools on a tight budget that need to provide easy access to BIOZONE titles for their teachers and students.
Find out more about the eBook LITE here!eBook PLUS
The eBook PLUS is our full-feature student option which contain all of the features that are found within an eBook LITE with additional enhancements of interactive components including:
- Embedded Publisher Questions - Students can answer questions online which can then be viewed/graded by their teacher
- Additional Teacher & Student Offline Resources - Activities that require graphing, drawing, model making, Offline PDFs and spreadsheets
- Embedded ResourceHub - Curated links to YouTube videos, web links, spreadsheets, 3D models and online simulations
Android Student App
In addition to our IOS BIOZONE Reader app for students we have now published the Android app available on the Google Play Store. Using the Android app, students are able to view their BIOZONE eBook wherever they have an internet connection. Otherwise, students can download their eBook onto their app to view when offline.
Students can also respond to homework and assessments that have been assigned to them by their teacher.
If students are viewing the eBook PLUS, students will also be able to view and submit answers to the embedded questions from their Android tablet so long as they are connected to the internet.
Platform Spanish Translation
We at BIOZONE want to improve the accessibility of all students to our digital titles. In doing so we have added Spanish translation to the BIOZONE eBooks platform. By selecting either of the two flags at the top-right of the dashboard, users will be able to toggle between the English language and Spanish language.
Also, when uploading students into BIOZONE eBooks, a default language of either English or Spanish can be selected. While this translation does not affect the BIOZONE content, this translation will make navigation and interaction with BIOZONE eBooks for English Language Learners (ELL) much easier.
ClassLink
You may have noticed a new button on our login screen, we are happy to announce that we are now fully certified and integrated with ClassLink!
ClassLink uses the OneRoster framework in order to provide both Rostering into the BIOZONE eBooks site as well as Single Sign-On services, making it even easier to enrol and manage your users. Just like OneRoster, Schools and Districts wanting to use ClassLink will need to have a OneRoster compliant SIS in order to use this integration.
If your school/district is using ClassLink, get in contact with our helpful IT Support team to begin integrating your ClassLink account into our BIOZONE eBooks platform.
In-App Help Center
We are always looking to improve our support for our customers, previously we have released our Knowledge Base and a video Training Platform to assist our users within the BIOZONE eBooks platform. Now our admin and teacher users will be able to easily access support for BIOZONE eBooks with our new In-App Help Center the one stop shop for customer support!
This can be accessed by selecting the question mark icon at the top right of the screen.
From the Help Center, users can browse through our wide range of Knowledge Base articles designed to answer your questions about the eBook platform without even needing to leave the site.
The Help Center also allows our users to manage support tickets with our IT Support team.
Once a ticket is submitted, users can:
- View the status of all current and previous tickets
- View responses from IT Support
- Send responses to the IT Support team
All without leaving the BIOZONE eBooks site!
The module also contains easy access to external links, including:
- First Time User? - Links to our eBook Training Platform, perfect for new users to upskill themselves in a video format
- Give Feedback - get direct access to our feedback form and let us know how we are doing! We are always looking to improve.
- News - see the latest updates on BIOZONE eBooks, just like the article you’re reading right now!
Be sure to keep an eye on our updates page for our next set of announcements!
What's Next for BIOZONE eBooks?
Here at BIOZONE our priority is you, the teacher. We want to make sure that you and your students are supported both with your in-classroom learning as well as remote learning.
In the future we will be tackling the following:
- Reducing our Offline Questions within our eBook PLUS titles
- Improving LMS Integration workflows
- Improving and updating our Support Materials
- Improving our Accessibility for ELL students
- Making the BIOZONE Reader App available for Chromebooks
If you have any feedback on how we can improve our BIOZONE eBooks, make sure to submit it though our feedback form!
Give Us Feedback!