Related toolsOne of Pressbooks’ most distinctive features is the interactives that you can deliver alongside text and media with the easy-to-use HTML 5 Package (H5P). H5P includes interactive displays, such as accordions for click-to-expand text or even virtual 360 tours, and activities, such as multiple choice questions or a branching scenario that give users the chance to discover or practice with concepts in the text (see H5P Examples for these and other interactives). Although these activities cannot be graded yet, they can give automatic feedback to indicate correctness and messages to guide or remediate.
For instructions to enable H5P in Pressbooks, see “Activating H5P” in H5P Interactive Content.
Note: Although many of the H5P content types support accessible features, some do not. Please check with an accessibility consultant for guidance.
Pressbooks or Canvas Pages?
Both Pressbooks and Canvas Pages (or Canvas Assignments + Quick Check {enter link to Tool Finder: Quick Check}) are ideal for sharing content electronically; however, they do have some significant differences. For example, activities in Pressbooks can appear anywhere on the page, but Quick Check questions can only be at the bottom of the page. Additionally, while there are fewer question types in Quick Check, those questions are connected to the Canvas Gradebook. Consult the table below to determine which is best for your particular needs.
| Feature | Pressbooks with H5P | Canvas Pages and Assignments |
|---|---|---|
| Deliver low or no-fee content | yes | yes |
| Write text with embedded images or videos | yes | yes |
| Embed activities | yes | no |
Grade student responses (see Quick Check) | no | yes |
Can be used with Hypothes.is | yes | no |
| Can be integrated with other Canvas elements (e.g. Files or Mastery Path) | no | yes |
| Access outside of Canvas and optional public publishing | yes | no |
| Publish in multiple formats | yes | no |
| Download or print the text (Note: Activities and videos cannot be printed) | yes | no |
| Assign individual, group, or class publishing projects | yes | no |
| Publish in collaboration with IU Press | yes | no |
Additional resources
- Using Pressbooks with Canvas
Example assignments and instructions - About Pressbooks at IU - IU Knowledge Base
- What are (Canvas) Pages?