Evaluation

I have finished my iBook, so it's time to evaluate.

Overall, I think I have created a successful iBook that adheres to the requirements and could be used as an education resource. It has a good visual style with some fun and interactive ways of presenting ideas, and as a result the iBook is engaging.

Gathering Content
I was quite successful on gathering content. I initially struggled with the organisation and arrangement of content, and it took me a while to make a solid decision on the direction I wanted to take the book (e.g. what Chapters, and what sections between), but once I had made a decision then I was okay. I cover a reasonably broad range of subjects within Volcanoes, but next time I would try to cover more. I feel I could have expanded into more unusual territories, such as Underwater Volcanoes. But, overall, my content is well written and makes sense.

I tried to implement some sort of narrative into my iBook. I did this by having sections that ran on from the previous,  but I think I could have been more successful at this but including it further and also having a stronger navigation within the iBook (e.g. If a term pops up, a link to the page in the iBook that explains it).

Time Management
My Time Management throughout the project has gone reasonably well. I've managed to keep on top of things and meet deadlines, despite feeling quite overwhelmed at times. If I could improve my time management I would focus more on the design and less time dwelling on getting the content together - these are two things that I could of done alongside each other.

Aside from feeling overwhelmed, I managed to do everything that has been asked of me and that is required, so I am happy with that. Time management is not one of my strongest points and is something I am working on personally. I created my production schedule and stuck to it pretty well, so this has been successful for me.

Graphic Style
The Graphic Style of my iBook is one of it's stronger aspects. It has a strong colour scheme throughout, with some deviation (see; Chapter  3 Section 1) where I felt it necessary and applicable. I chopped and changed with the graphic style of my iBook a few times because I wasn't happy with it. I got stuck in a rut of 'I don't like the design' which was preventing me from moving forward, so I rethought how I was going to present my content and went from there. I kept some aspects of my original design (specifically the Volcano) and then implemented new colours and a new way of presenting the title (in a Ribbon). I feel this greatly enhanced my iBook, making it more engaging, with less imposing colours (red can be rather strong...) and majorly improved it's readability.

I tried to sick to my visual style and carry it out through the graphics I drew. In a way this restricted me to my drawing ability, but as it was quite a simple style I think I did quite well. I made a decision early on to as much as possible not include external graphics and graphs and to draw them myself. This gave me freedom to include as much or as little information as I wanted, and has been of a benefit to me.

Level of Interactivity Implemented
I feel I have included a good and successful level of Interactivity. I have featured several external widgets from Bookry.com as well as numerous ones from within iBooks author itself. They range in type, from click & drag to quizzes to pop overs, and this has created some fun ways to find out information.

I struggled with ways to direct the user to the interactivity. With pop overs, they do not come with a 'play' button and require a text box that says "click on...." or "click here...". This has meant my iBook feels as if it's littered with little boxes that say that, but it's something that I am restricted to because of the software and if I had the ability to I would implement symbols that users recognise as meaning certain things.

Navigation
The navigation of my iBook was again restricted by the program. If I were to continue on with this project I would implement my own navigational frame (e.g. adding home buttons) like I had planned, but I did not plan in enough time to work through this. iBooks author does not let you delete the 'Table of Contents' which appears at the beginning of the ibook, and this was a major restriction for me and caused me to have to redesign the structure of my iBook. My iBook navigates the same as every other iBook,