Abstract: A method for sharing multilayered electronic content among users of a social network within a digital education platform is provided. In one embodiment, the digital education platform allows a user to create user-generated content associated with a multilayered document and share the content with other users in an education social network. The user can specify which users to share the user-generated content and assign an access right to each of those users that may access the user-generated content. When the digital education platform receives a request to access the user-generated content from a certain user, an access right associated with that user for the user-generated content is determined and access is granted according to the access right.

Abstract: A digital publishing platform enables users to create and organize notes associated with electronic, published documents. Sets of notes, each associated with a document, are uploaded to the publishing platform by notepad applications executing on user devices. Each set of notes has one or more notes, and each note includes a link to a location in the associated document. The publishing platform is configured to aggregate a plurality of sets of notes, combining the notes of the sets into a single set while maintaining their link to an associated document.

Abstract: A method for sharing notes created in a multilayered document among users of a social network within a digital education platform is provided. In one embodiment, the digital education platform allows a user to create notes linked to a particular location in the document using a notepad application. Notes are aggregated and stored in the user's personal library on the digital education platform. When a user requests to share another user's notes and is granted access, the digital education platform retrieves the other user's notes and inserts the shared notes into the requesting user's existing notes associated with the document, based on their individual sharing attributes and metadata.

Abstract: An education digital reading platform provides pages of a document requested by a user, the pages including additional content layers associated with the requested content. The additional content layers including related content, user generated content, advertisement content and other services content offered by the digital reading platform. The requested content and additional content layers require processing capability on a web browser application. The amount of data associated with a page of a document may vary dramatically especially considering the additional layers of content associated with the pages. In order to permit the web browser application anticipate the processing needs associated with each page, the digital reading platform provides markers indicating a difference in processing requirements associated between two pages of a document.

Abstract: A system for and method of displaying non-rectangular images in electronic content on an electronic device in accordance with exemplary embodiments may include identifying, using a template identification computing apparatus, an image shape template associated with a non-rectangular image that is part of electronic content to be displayed on the electronic device, determining, using a boundary region determination computing apparatus, a boundary region of the image shape template, placing, using an image placement computing apparatus, the non-rectangular image inside the boundary region of the image shape template and on the electronic content, flowing, using a text flow computing apparatus, text that is part of the electronic content outside and along the boundary region of the image shape template, and transmitting, using a communication computing apparatus, the electronic content along with the non-rectangular image to the electronic device via a network.

Abstract: Embodiments provide a system for content distribution and protection. The system first receives an order from a user for a protected document. In response to a successful user authentication, the system generates an access code for the user to access the protected document. In response to a received user reading request, the system validates the access code for a reading session. The system then transfers a set of URLs for accessing a set of pages and associated metadata in the protected document to the user. The set of URLs are valid for a period of time. Responsive to a request for reading a next set of pages, the system again validates the access code for the session and transfers another set of URLs for accessing the next set of pages. The system also logs user activities related to the protected document.

Abstract: A notepad application enables users to create notes associated with electronic documents. The document, configured for rendering by an eReader browser application, is associated with a table of contents defining a plurality of sections of the document. The notepad application displays a note window associated with a section of the document within a user interface of the browser application. When a user generates a note in connection with the note window by indicating a location within the document, the notepad application adds the note to a note region in a note object that is associated with a section of the document defined by the table of contents. The notepad application then can access the note using the table of contents of the document.

Abstract: Embodiments provide a system for content distribution and protection. The system first receives an order from a user for a protected document. In response to a successful user authentication, the system generates an access code for the user to access the protected document. In response to a received user reading request, the system validates the access code for a reading session. The system then transfers a set of URLs for accessing a set of pages and associated metadata in the protected document to the user. The set of URLs are valid for a period of time. Responsive to a request for reading a next set of pages, the system again validates the access code for the session and transfers another set of URLs for accessing the next set of pages. The system also logs user activities related to the protected document.

Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure provide a system for correlating document pages. The system receives a source image of a document page and a rendered image of a markup language page converted from the document page. The system then performs a correlation analysis between the source image and the rendered image. Next, the system determines a correlation factor between the source image and the rendered image based on the correlation analysis, wherein the correlation factor indicates a page fidelity between the document page and the markup language page converted from the document page.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a system for automated document conversion testing. For each page in the received documents, the system first converts the page into a source image. The system then converts the document page into a set of markup language page elements and generates a rendered image of the markup language page elements displayed in a web browser on a target software platform. Next, the system determines a correlation factor between the source image and the rendered image. The correlation factor indicates a page fidelity between the original document and its markup language transformation. If the correlation factor exceeds a threshold established for a minimum page fidelity requirement, the markup language conversion is validated.

Abstract: An education digital reading platform suggests connections between users, wherein the users are represented as nodes in a social graph. The nodes may be identified from education materials and course registrations associated with a course and a user. The education digital reading platform also determines suggested connections between the nodes based on the education materials and the course registrations, wherein the suggested connections are based on a commonality between the nodes, such as being registered to a similar course, having the same major, etc. The determined suggested connections are provided to the users. If the users accept the suggested connections, communication and other services are enabled between the users. Such a method of connecting users may iterate when new users or information is added to the platform, such as when a student registers for a new course or a new syllabus is received.

Abstract: A method, a storage medium and a system for document content reconstruction are provided in a digital content delivery and online education services platform to enable delivery of textbooks and other copyrighted material to multi-platform web browser applications. The method comprises ingesting a document page in an unstructured document format. The method further comprises extracting one or more images and metadata associated with the images and text and fonts associated with the texts from the document page. In addition, the method comprises coalescing text into paragraphs and creating a structured document page in a markup language format using the extracted images, text and fonts rendered with layout fidelity to the original ingested document page.

Abstract: Users of an education digital reading platform are provided with advertisements based on their user data. The offers are provided in a course material, such as a textbook, wherein the textbook is identified from a course syllabus. The course material is analyzed to identify ad regions wherein an advertisement may be placed, including embedded ad regions within a course material page and supplement ad regions around a course material page. In addition, predictive data suggesting a user activity in the future may be identified from a course syllabus and opportunistic data providing a current user activity may be used to select advertisements to display to the user. The selected advertisements are mapped to the embedded and supplement ad regions and sent to the user, wherein the selected advertisements are displayed to the user based on the mapping.

Abstract: An education digital reading platform provides HTML5 pages to a user's computing device to enable a browser executing on the user device to display it. Words, lines, paragraphs and columns on the page are identified to enable a user to easily select one or more words within the displayed page. Additionally, custom tools are provided to the user to enable the user to interface with the selected words. For example, a user is provided with customizable magnification and highlight tools, wherein the user can choose custom magnification levels and custom highlight colors. The tools advantageously enable a user perform such actions on the page without accessing the operating system resources on a computing device.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a system and a method for providing consistent user experience in eReading applications. The system extracts a set of attributes of browsers and platforms on which an eReading application is running The system receives a target eReading application performance. The system adjusts behavior of the eReading application to compensate for the difference between the extracted set of attributes and the target eReading application performance.

Abstract: An education digital reading platform collects time based user activity data and time based instruction data to generate time based views displaying a user's progress. User activity data includes any activity performed by a user on a web application displaying content from the education digital reading platform such as reading, taking notes, or answering questions. Time based instruction data includes a syllabus, due dates, and deadlines associated with a user's class. An interface system aggregates the user activity data from one or more users along with the instruction data to generate views of a user's progress. The views may be displayed, for example, as a timeline or a calendar. The views may enable a comparison between the activities of multiple users or a comparison of one or more user's activities to a syllabus.

Abstract: An education digital reading platform provides a visualization interface displaying visual object elements of a document to a user. A visual object element may include images, videos, charts, tables, etc. The visual objects may be identified in a document by extracting metadata associated with the document. Additionally, the ideas or concepts represented by the visual object elements may be identified by analyzing the document, and content related to the ideas or concepts may be identified and associated with the visual object elements. The related content may include user generated content or content stored in one or more databases. The related content is provided to a user in the visualization interface wherein the user may access the related content. The interface allows a user to navigate a document by moving from one visual object element to another.

Abstract: An education digital reading platform provides aggregation, management, and distribution of digital education content and services. The platform ingests content from a variety of content sources, transforms the content for web-based publication, and distributes the content to connected end-user devices via a network. The transformed content preserves the original page structure of the content document regardless of the original format of the content file. As the user experiences the content, the user's web browser regularly communicates with the platform for updating reading content and connected services. User-generated content such as notes are uploaded to the platform so that the user's user-generated content can be accessed from any of the user's registered devices. Moreover, the platform enables the user-generated content and other user activities to be optionally shared among friends, classmates, campus, or other groups, as part of an education social platform.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling the power of an electronic reader device is provided. The system for controlling the power of an electronic reader device may comprise a computing apparatus that may receive a command from a host system to change the power state a power controller. The system may also comprise a computing apparatus that may adjust the power state of the power controller by using one or more registers. The system may further comprise a computing apparatus that may adjust the power of one or more power supplies. The system may additionally comprise a computing apparatus that may instruct a display controller to perform an operation based on the change of the power state of the power controller.

Abstract: A system for and method of displaying non-rectangular images in electronic content on an electronic device in accordance with exemplary embodiments may include identifying, using a template identification computing apparatus, an image shape template associated with a non-rectangular image that is part of electronic content to be displayed on the electronic device, determining, using a boundary region determination computing apparatus, a boundary region of the image shape template, placing, using an image placement computing apparatus, the non-rectangular image inside the boundary region of the image shape template and on the electronic content, flowing, using a text flow computing apparatus, text that is part of the electronic content outside and along the boundary region of the image shape template, and transmitting, using a communication computing apparatus, the electronic content along with the non-rectangular image to the electronic device via a network.