Why Jupyter Books? An Introduction#
What if your educational resources were not only effective for today’s students but also accessible, citable, and reproducible for future generations? If this prospect aligns with your academic vision, we invite you to explore an alternative approach to traditional learning platforms.
In light of the ongoing replication crisis, many universities are striving to make research and education more open, inclusive, and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). However, conventional educational platforms such as Moodle, OLAT, and ILIAS present significant limitations that are often at odds with these objectives. These proprietary systems introduce several challenges, including restricted access, high costs, and limited interoperability. For instance, educators frequently need to acquire costly licenses, which can hinder their ability to develop and disseminate instructional materials freely. Moreover, these platforms often lock users into specific ecosystems, complicating collaboration across institutions and disciplines. These constraints inhibit the dynamic and interactive learning environments necessary for contemporary higher education and research.
Challenges of Proprietary Educational Platforms#
Traditional educational platforms present several key issues:
Content is often exclusive and accessible only to a limited group of students.
Collaboration on learning materials is constrained.
Citability of learning resources is often inadequate.
Content must frequently be recompiled for each new cohort.
Integration of interactive elements is cumbersome.
Content may become fragmented across multiple course iterations, making it difficult to track and update over time.
An Alternative Approach: Open Educational Resources#
To address these challenges, we propose the adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) that are freely accessible, adaptable, and reusable. But how can these be effectively created and maintained?
Our approach leverages open-source tools, including Jupyter Books, along with GitHub and GitHub Pages, to facilitate the development and dissemination of reusable educational materials.
Familiarity with these tools is not required — we will provide a structured introduction within this tutorial. Our methodology is supported by a pre-configured template designed to simplify the creation of OERs. This template can be used for diverse learning materials as well as for dynamic publication and documentation (for an example, click here).
The Benefits of This Approach#
Compared to traditional platforms, the use of this approach provides tangible advantages:
Content is openly accessible to anyone with an internet connection, independent of institutional affiliation.
Collaboration is greatly facilitated through GitHub’s version control and contribution mechanisms.
Educational resources become easily citable.
Materials can be reused and adapted efficiently.
Version control ensures that previous iterations remain accessible, enhancing transparency.
Hosting content via GitHub allows for centralized management and continuous tracking of updates.
This approach aligns more effectively with the principles of open science and FAIR research than conventional approaches.
So Why Use Jupyter Books?#
Among the various tools available for creating OERs, why is this approach based on Jupyter Books?
Great question!
Jupyter Book is a powerful, flexible tool for creating open, interactive educational content. Here are some key reasons to consider Jupyter Book for your next project:
Seamlessly integrate live code, equations, visualizations, and text in a single document for an engaging learning experience.
Open-source and GitHub-friendly, enabling easy collaboration and sharing.
Interactive elements like sliders and dropdowns enhance exercises and quizzes.
Multiple export formats (HTML, PDF, EPUB) ensure accessibility across platforms and devices.
Built on Jupyter Notebook, benefiting from a large community and extensive support.
By leveraging Jupyter Books, educators can create dynamic, reusable, and interactive learning experiences that align with modern teaching and research needs.
Next Chapter:#
In the next chapter you will discover what Github is, how to create an account, and how to start a new project.