Training on eBook Publishing among University Teachers In Nigeria: A Covid-19 Era Intervention

One of the mandates of University teaching in Nigeria is publication of research findings. Promotion depends on such publications. University teachers often achieve this demand through peer-reviewed conference papers. At the onset of Covid-19 lockdown in Nigeria, restriction on gatherings affected in-person conferences and created a problem for many who needed to meet the demands for promotion. As beneficiaries of online trainings, we decided to provide an intervention in the form of a 5-day technology-enhanced workshop on eBook creation and publishing, which took place in March and June 2021. Using WhatsApp platform and an invite link, 109 lectures participated in the training through interactive sessions and video recordings using Screencast-O-Matic. The training experience was exhilarating for us as trainers and rewarding for the participants. About 50% of them successfully created their Kdp accounts and through the skills acquired, published their first eBook on Amazon. Such publications could be used for promotion purposes. A good number of the successful ones progressed to the level where they obtained certificates as Master eBook creators.