![The cover of a print edition of Connected shown alongside the digital edition of the same story](/assets/Uploads/case-studies-2018/connected/_resampled/CroppedFocusedImageWyI3MzYiLCIzNjgiLCJ5IiwzXQ/QualityWzEwMF0/connected-hero.jpg)
A series of science education resources for learners aged 7–12, published by the Ministry of Education. Chrometoaster, partnering with Lift Education, revitalised Connected with a fresh design, and innovative use of Google Apps.
![Covers of the first 3 Connected books](/assets/Uploads/case-studies-2018/connected/_resampled/ScaleWidthWyI3NjkiXQ/QualityWzEwMF0/connected-01-level-2-4-first-year-darker.jpg)
Blending print with digital
For the 2013 edition, the Ministry was looking for innovation. They wanted to allow people to use and reuse the content in their own ways, and to find ways to blend print with digital.
Chrometoaster, partnering with Lift Education, changed the game for Connected — thanks to an innovative use of Google Apps.
![Covers of nine recent Connected books](/assets/Uploads/case-studies-2018/connected/_resampled/ScaleWidthWyI3NjkiXQ/QualityWzEwMF0/connected-01f-range-spread-out.jpg)
You picked Connected up, took it somewhere new, and also retained its strengths in pedagogy and NZ content.
Kirsty Farquharson, Ministry of Education
![Covers of 15 editions of Connected](/assets/Uploads/case-studies-2018/connected/_resampled/ScaleWidthWyI3NjkiXQ/QualityWzEwMF0/connected-02-lots-more-connecteds.jpg)
![Covers of the three 2018 Connected books](/assets/Uploads/case-studies-2018/connected/_resampled/ScaleWidthWyI3NjkiXQ/QualityWzEwMF0/connected-02f-a-2018-editions.jpg)
![Spread of the article "War of Weeds" from a Connected book](/assets/Uploads/case-studies-2018/connected/_resampled/ScaleWidthWyI3NjkiXQ/QualityWzEwMF0/connected-02f-b-war-on-weeds-spread.jpg)
![A spread from Connected in the book and the digital version](/assets/Uploads/case-studies-2018/connected/_resampled/ScaleWidthWyI3NjkiXQ/QualityWzEwMF0/connected-03-connected-print-and-web.jpg)
Making science come to life
First we gave the printed books a full design make-over. Then, using Google Apps, we delivered digital versions of the Connected 2013 books on Google Slides. These have high-resolution images, videos and links, and all the images used are available for reuse on Google Drive. This was a first for the Ministry of Education, and even a first for Google. We think that makes it a world first.
Projected for classroom use, or read using mobile devices, the science comes to life on Google Slides.
![Digital spread from an article about the Electron rocket](/assets/Uploads/case-studies-2018/connected/_resampled/ScaleWidthWyI3NjkiXQ/QualityWzEwMF0/connected-03f-a-digital-version-1.jpg)
![Digital spread from an article about stop motion animation](/assets/Uploads/case-studies-2018/connected/_resampled/ScaleWidthWyI3NjkiXQ/QualityWzEwMF0/connected-03f-b-digital-version-2.jpg)
![Digital articles examples](/assets/Uploads/case-studies-2018/connected/_resampled/ScaleWidthWyI3NjkiXQ/QualityWzEwMF0/connected-04-digital-versions-3.jpg)
Supporting re-use
All images are Creative Commons licensed for sharing with teachers and students.
Using Google Fonts means teachers can use and reuse the text on the Google Slides stories how they want. Teachers can also download the Teacher support material for the articles and edit these for their own use.
![Compares the print and digital versions of an article, the content is the same but the layout differs](/assets/Uploads/case-studies-2018/connected/_resampled/ScaleWidthWyI3NjkiXQ/QualityWzEwMF0/connected-04f-print-digital-comparison.jpg)