How to Enrich Your Interactive Ebooks With Kotobee Mini-apps
If there’s one thing technology has taught us, it’s that nothing remains the same forever. Everything changes as new innovations come to light. Things become more advanced, have multiple functions, and keep evolving. This includes ebooks. From basic interactive elements to book widgets and now Kotobee Mini-apps, they have come a long way.
While some formats prevent ebooks from evolving, others—such as EPUB3—are constantly giving ebooks room to grow. We’ve gone beyond static ebooks and limited options. With our new Mini-apps, we’re now at a point where anything is possible.
What are Kotobee Mini-apps?
Kotobee mini-apps is the newest member of the Kotobee family. As with the rest of the Kotobee products, its main role is to enhance your ebook creation process and enrich the interactive experience. With this new addition, you can extend how far you can go with your ebook without the need for development tools and diving into coding.
Simply adding images, videos, and audio isn’t enough anymore; the mini-apps allow you to do much more than that. To see them in action, you can head to Kotobee’s website and download the latest edition of Kotobee Author.
Kotobee Mini-apps Vs Book Widgets
Looking at the mini-apps, one can easily start to compare them to the already available book widgets. After all, they both extend the functionality of the ebook and enhance the interactive ebook experience. While they might seem quite similar, it’s important to note that there are a couple of distinct differences.
The first is that the mini-apps are set and ready for use within Kotobee Author v1.7.0 and all later versions and there’s no need to upload them. They’re much easier to customize within the app rather than making adjustments outside and then uploading them each time.
The second is that book widgets are embedded inside the ebook pages. The mini-apps, on the other hand, are independent of the content. This means that you can open them no matter where you are in the ebook, not just in a particular chapter.
Get to Know the Mini-apps
So how many mini-apps are available for use right now? Well, there are 37 mini-apps ready for use in Kotobee Author, with a lot more on the way. These mini-apps cover various functionalities, from entertainment and games to research and productivity.
Games Mini-Apps
Would you like to add some fun to your ebook? Then the games mini-apps can be a great addition to your content. Not only will they keep your readers engaged, but you can also use them for educational purposes!
Crosswords
This mini-app allows you to display crossword puzzles using your own words and clues. It’s a fun addition to children’s books or educational books, as it gives your users a break from reading and helps stimulate them with an interesting activity.
Roll the Dice
Add excitement to your ebook by allowing your readers to roll a single die or pair of dice. This mini-app is handy for make-your-own-adventure ebooks where readers can leave the choice for their next move to the dice. This is a sure way to create an interesting reading experience.
Sudoku
Now you can include and display sudoku puzzles inside your ebook to strengthen your readers’ arithmetic abilities. It’s a playful addition to children’s books or mathematical books. This mini-app can give your readers a refreshing pause from reading and help engage them with an interesting activity.
Wordsearch
Challenge your readers to a fun game of Word search by adding this mini-app inside your ebook and letting them test their word search skills. Create your own custom word search game that is fun to play and is also educational. You can make it as simple or difficult as you’d like. This mini-app is perfect for elementary school teachers, or anyone who wants to provide their readers with an entertaining brain teaser.
Chess
This mini-app is perfect for chess training, accommodating players from the easiest to the most challenging levels. Utilizing an AI feature, it highlights the available moves for your readers while locking out any unavailable ones. Additionally, they receive notifications when the king is in check or when it’s their turn to make a move.
Jigsaw Puzzle
Play and challenge your brain with this addictive puzzle! It’s beneficial for your cognitive abilities, logical thinking, and memory. Moreover, it serves as a great way to unwind and pass the time, regardless of your age! And the best thing is that you can create your own jigsaw puzzle using any image you desire!
Memory Game
Boost your memory with this memory game mini-app! All you have to do is flip the cards and match the tiles together in pairs. To create this game, simply add your own images, then choose between 5 different puzzle sizes; 4×4, 5×5, 6×6, 7×7, and 8×8.
Coloring Book
Prefill this mini-app with different line art drawings of your choice, and allow your readers to color them in. Your users can choose between different brush colors and sizes. The colored drawing can either be downloaded as an offline image file, or saved online for later access. Optionally, you can allow the readers to add their own line art drawings and color them as well.
Google Mini-Apps
Google Suite provides various indispensable apps that many of us rely on daily—whether at work or while studying. Now imagine if you could seamlessly integrate these apps into your content, allowing readers to access them without leaving the ebook. With our Google mini-apps, you can do just that! This allows you to enhance your content while maintaining convenience for your readers.
Google Forms
Your readers can use this mini-app to fill out a form straight from Google Forms inside your ebook. This is particularly useful for questions you want to ask your readers, or for collecting direct feedback from them.
Google Calendar
Readers can access events from a shared Google Calendar of your choice through this mini-app. It’s particularly useful for coursework with scheduled dates for readings or assignments. This way, users can access the calendar and stay informed about what is due and when.
Google Maps
How cool is it to be able to put an actual interactive map anywhere in your ebook! Using this mini-app, readers will be able to access Google Maps from inside the ebook. They’ll also be able to save specific locations in memory. It’s a great addition to ebooks on travel and history, to help readers locate specific sites to visit when later on.
Google Slides
With this mini-app, your readers can access a Google Slides presentation directly from within the ebook. This way, you can easily incorporate extra information into your content directly from Google Slides and your reader can access them without leaving the ebook.
Google Translate
While reading, we often wonder about the meaning or translation of a word. Instead of opening your browser to search for the translation, this mini-app allows your users to enter words and phrases to be translated using Google Translate’s powerful translation API. It’s especially useful for language-related books or books with a lot of foreign words. You can either preset the language for your readers or allow them to choose from a selection of languages using the dropdown menu.
Google Docs
This mini-app allows your readers to access Google Docs from within your ebook without having to open external sources. You can easily customize the Google Docs min-app by changing the background image, icon, title, and description to match your ebook’s theme and style.
YouTube
If you want to embed a YouTube video in your ebook, you can use the YouTube mini-app. Through this mini-app, readers will be able to access the videos from any chapter in the ebook.
Information Mini-Apps
The following mini-apps allow you to present information in a more captivating manner. Instead of relying on traditional blocks of text for your readers to navigate, you can display essential information in a more dynamic and engaging format.
Contact
Using this mini-app, you can display a contact form that your users can use to send a message to an email address of your choice. It’s ideal for teachers looking for feedback or questions from students, or any professional offering services that people need to sign up for. You also have the option to allow the reader to enter his name and/or email address.
Flash Cards
Creating and displaying several flashcards containing questions can help readers learn information easily. Once your user clicks on any of the flashcards, the card will flip and the respective answer will appear. It’s particularly ideal for educational ebooks with a lot of information that readers need to memorize.
Glossary
This mini-app allows you to enter a list of words or phrases for your readers, along with their respective definitions. It’s highly recommended for ebooks containing a lot of challenging words. Whether it’s a language ebook, a scientific ebook, or merely one full of terminology, this glossary will be of great help to your readers. They can search and scroll through the list of words and their definitions with ease.
Link
The Link mini-app allows you to add hyperlinks to external websites. When you click on the URL in the mini-app, the external website will open. You may choose whether the website opens in an external window or a popup inside the same window. It is ideal for ebooks that link out to online resources or references the readers might want to view.
PDF Viewer
This mini-app allows you to display a PDF file inside your ebook. This can be useful for instructions, guides, or handbooks for your readers.
References
Sometimes, book creators and authors use a lot of outside research that needs to be referred to, and that’s where the References mini-app comes in. This mini-app allows you to create a list of references along with their hyperlinks and display them to your users in a draggable window. You can choose whether to have the links open in an external window or as a pop-up inside the ebook.
RSS Reader
You can use this mini-app to read and display RSS feeds inside your ebook. It’s a good addition to ebooks from specialists that have a constant stream of information and news coming out every day. That way, your readers can keep tabs on the latest content you release.
Rich Text
Showcase a block of stylized text featuring a variety of formatting features. These features include font size changes, underscoring, strikethroughs, italics, bolding, and hyperlinks. This mini-app can be useful for displaying a book summary, instructions, tips, or any other content you’d like to emphasize.
Survey
This easily customizable mini-app displays a list of input questions along with input elements (such as textboxes and checkboxes) for the reader to fill in. Once the survey is submitted, an email with the results will be sent to a recipient email of your choice. This can be useful for ebooks on niche subjects, where the author is on the lookout for feedback from the readers. Additionally, it’s a great tool for authors working on a series of educational subjects and searching for ideas for upcoming books.
Math Mini-Apps
Struggling with equations can disrupt the flow of reading. Luckily, the following mini-apps offer your readers everything they might need inside the ebook without needing to grab a calculator or use any external tools.
Calculator
This simple yet practical mini-app allows your users to do basic arithmetic from inside the ebook. They won’t need to go in search of a physical or online calculator to do some basic calculations. It’s ideal for ebooks on Mathematics and Physics that contain equations for the students to solve, or any ebook with basic calculations involved.
Calconic
Now you can embed custom calculators created using Calconic with this mini-app. The calculator is displayed in a draggable popup window, which gives the readers more freedom on where to place it throughout their ebooks. It is ideal for mathematical and scientific ebooks.
Currency Converter
With this mini-app, you can convert between over 160 different currencies using the latest daily exchange rates. It can also help users stay updated with new exchange rates. This feature is particularly ideal for books on foreign countries, or books on finance.
Ruler
Taking measurements in different units is now easier with this mini-app, which allows your readers to display a ruler on the screen. There are horizontal, vertical, and triangular rulers available. The ruler can be dragged, rotated, and even resized. This mini-app is popular with K12 Math and Geometry-based ebooks.
Scientific Calculator
This mini-app allows you to add a scientific calculator to your ebooks that will open in a draggable popup window. It’s a great addition to scientific or mathematical textbooks. The calculator supports complex operations such as sin, cos, tan, log, and more.
Unit Converter
With 9 different categories, your users can use the Unit Converter to convert between different units of measurement. This mini-app is particularly ideal for scientific or mathematical books for children. It can also be useful for ebooks on diets and meal plans.
Multimedia Mini-Apps
Enhance your ebook by incorporating multimedia elements such as pictures, videos, or audio files. These additions breathe life into your content, providing a refreshing break from lengthy blocks of text. Utilize the following mini-apps to convey information in creative ways, both visually and audibly.
Image Viewer
To make the most out of the interactive features and multimedia of ebooks, this mini-app allows you to display a gallery of images that can be opened, zoomed in, and panned around. The images can be opened by clicking on their respective thumbnail images or by navigating through them using the Next and Previous buttons. This mini-app is useful for many types of ebooks where you’d like to display photo albums of different subjects and have them accessible easily from anywhere inside your ebook.
MP3 Player
Using the MP3 Player mini-app, your users can listen to your playlists, with audio controls appearing in a draggable pop-up. This is particularly useful for children’s books or books with narration that need to be listened to in a particular order. Additionally, you can easily customize the various playlists according to your preferences.
Soundscapes
Soundscapes are great for creating a specific ambiance while reading. This mini-app allows your readers to choose a track from a list of 10 different soundscapes to play while they are reading your ebook. The soundscape will play without blocking the ebook.
Voice Notes
This mini-app enables your readers to record voice notes and access a list of previously recorded ones. It’s an ideal solution for individuals who prefer voice input over typing.
YouTube
This mini-app allows you to display YouTube videos inside your ebook by simply using only their URL. This way, you can allow your readers to watch the video without leaving the ebook. These videos can be played in either normal size or fullscreen. Additionally, you can choose to enable autoplay, which will automatically start playing the video when the mini-app is opened.
Productivity Mini-Apps
Whether you want to reinforce key points in your content or encourage readers to take notes, you can now leverage these mini-apps to enhance their focus while reading. These customizable mini-apps serve as an excellent way to keep readers engaged and interactive with your ebook.
Checklist
If you are looking to create customizable checklists for your users, then this mini-app is perfect for you. Each checklist opens in a draggable window, allowing users to check or uncheck items off the list. It is particularly ideal for educational or training ebooks that include milestones or steps that users might need to check off a list. Moreover, the checklist and its window are customizable.
Reminder
The Reminder mini-app allows you to create text and image-based reminders that will appear to your users after a specified time. It’s a helpful addition to display encouraging quotes, such as “Don’t forget to drink water”, “you can rest for a few minutes” or even asking questions like, “What have you learned so far?”. This makes it an ideal addition for medical ebooks, or ebooks on nutrition, sports, or diets.
Scratchpad
The Scratchpad mini-app allows your users to write and save notes. It is easily accessible for your users from inside any chapter. This mini-app is ideal for ebooks that contain study materials where users might want to take notes. The notes can be saved locally or on the cloud.
Conclusion
It’s time to expand the pre-established ways in which we see and use ebooks. With technology making the impossible possible, we can go beyond what we already know. Kotobee mini-apps are just one of many innovative ways to do that.
As we mentioned before, this is just the beginning as there are many more mini-apps in store! In fact, if you have any suggestions for new ones, you can let us know by emailing support@kotobee.com, You can also click on the links to learn how to add and customize your mini-apps. What are you waiting for? Download Kotobee Author and give it a try.
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