Quarto Academic E-Book Template

📚 Professional template for creating interactive academic e-books with Quarto

✨ Features

This template provides everything you need to create a professional, interactive academic e-book:

📖 Content Structure

Outcome-Based Education (OBE) aligned - Learning outcomes drive content
Flipped classroom ready - Pre-reading, in-class, post-class materials
Comprehensive chapters with consistent structure
Hands-on labs with step-by-step instructions
Assessment framework - Pre-quizzes, self-checks, problem sets
Reference materials - Appendices, glossary, cheatsheets

🎨 Professional Design

Multi-format output - HTML, PDF, EPUB
Responsive design - Desktop, tablet, mobile friendly
Dark mode support - Built-in theme switching
Interactive elements - Collapsible sections, tabsets, callouts
Code highlighting - Syntax highlighting with copy buttons
Diagram standards - Consistent visual language

💻 Developer-Friendly

Template files - Chapter and lab templates ready to use
Diagram templates - Mermaid and Matplotlib examples
Quality guidelines - Comprehensive documentation
Best practices - Code standards, naming conventions
Build scripts - Automated testing and validation

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

Required:

Quarto 1.3+
Python 3.10+
LaTeX distribution (TinyTeX recommended)

For PDF rendering (Mermaid diagrams):

Chrome/Chromium browser

Installation

1. Clone or Download Template

# Option A: Clone from GitHub
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/quarto-academic-ebook-template.git
cd quarto-academic-ebook-template

# Option B: Download ZIP and extract
# Then navigate to the directory

2. Install Quarto (if not already installed)

# Follow instructions at: https://quarto.org/docs/get-started/

3. Install TinyTeX (for PDF generation)

quarto install tinytex

4. Install Python Dependencies (if using Python code)

pip install -r requirements.txt

5. Preview Your E-Book

quarto preview

Your e-book will open in browser at http://localhost:4200

📚 Sample Output

📁 Project Structure

quarto-academic-ebook-template/
├── README.md                    # This file
├── QUICK_START.md              # Step-by-step setup guide
├── LICENSE                      # CC BY-SA 4.0 license
├── _quarto.yml                  # Main configuration
├── index.qmd                    # Landing page
├── preface.qmd                  # Course overview
├── how-to-use.qmd               # User guide for students
│
├── chapters/                    # Theory chapters
│   ├── _chapter-template.qmd    # Chapter template
│   └── 01-sample-chapter.qmd    # Example chapter
│
├── labs/                        # Hands-on exercises
│   ├── _lab-template.qmd        # Lab template
│   └── lab01-sample-lab.qmd     # Example lab
│
├── assessments/                 # Assessment materials
│   ├── index.qmd
│   ├── pre-quizzes.qmd
│   ├── problem-sets.qmd
│   ├── quiz-bank.qmd
│   └── project-guidelines.qmd
│
├── appendices/                  # Reference materials
│   └── index.qmd
│
├── images/                      # Diagrams and figures
│   └── templates/               # Diagram templates
│       ├── mermaid-flowchart-template.mmd
│       ├── mermaid-sequence-template.mmd
│       ├── matplotlib-plot-template.py
│       ├── matplotlib-bar-chart-template.py
│       └── ec-plot-template.py
│
├── styles/                      # Custom styling
│   ├── custom.scss              # Custom styles
│   └── ieee.csl                 # Citation style
│
├── latex/                       # PDF customization
│   └── preamble.tex
│
├── scripts/                     # Build and utility scripts
├── data/                        # Data files for examples
├── code/                        # Standalone code files
├── instructor/                  # Instructor-only materials
│
└── docs/                        # Template documentation
    ├── TEMPLATE_GUIDE.md        # Complete usage guide
    ├── DIAGRAM_STANDARDS.md     # Visual design standards
    ├── DIAGRAM_QUICK_REFERENCE.md
    └── OBE_INTEGRATION.md       # OBE implementation guide

📝 Customizing Your E-Book

1. Update Configuration (`_quarto.yml`)

Edit the main configuration file:

book:
  title: "Your Course Title"
  subtitle: "Your Course Subtitle"
  author:
    - name: "Your Name"
      affiliation: "Your Institution"
  date: "2026"

Key settings to customize:

Title and author information
Chapter structure and organization
Theme colors and styling
Output formats (HTML, PDF, EPUB)
Language (Indonesian by default, change to English if needed)

2. Create Chapters

Use the chapter template as starting point:

# Copy template
cp chapters/_chapter-template.qmd chapters/01-your-topic.qmd

# Edit the new file
# Update title, learning objectives, content

Chapter structure (see template for details):

Learning objectives
Pre-reading checklist
Introduction
Content sections with examples
Summary and key takeaways
Self-check questions
Practice problems

3. Create Labs

Use the lab template:

# Copy template
cp labs/_lab-template.qmd labs/lab01-your-lab.qmd

# Customize content

Lab structure:

Overview and objectives
Background/theory review
Pre-lab preparation
Step-by-step procedure with checkpoints
Optional challenges
Submission requirements
Troubleshooting section

4. Add Chapters to `_quarto.yml`

- part: "Your Part Title"
  chapters:
    - chapters/01-your-topic.qmd
    - chapters/02-another-topic.qmd

5. Build Your E-Book

# Preview with live reload
quarto preview

# Render all formats
quarto render

# Render specific format
quarto render --to html
quarto render --to pdf
quarto render --to epub

🎨 Using Diagrams

This template includes diagram templates and standards for consistency.

Mermaid Diagrams (Built-in)

For flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and more:

```{mermaid}
%%| label: fig-your-diagram
%%| fig-cap: "Description of diagram"
%%| fig-alt: "Accessibility description"
%%| code-fold: true

flowchart LR
    A[Start] --> B[Process]
    B --> C[End]
```

Templates available:

images/templates/mermaid-flowchart-template.mmd
images/templates/mermaid-sequence-template.mmd

Python Matplotlib

For plots and visualizations:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

# See templates in images/templates/

See: docs/DIAGRAM_STANDARDS.md for complete guidelines

📚 Best Practices

Content Guidelines

DO:

✅ Align content with learning outcomes
✅ Use consistent terminology
✅ Include real-world examples
✅ Provide worked examples
✅ Add self-check questions
✅ Use interactive elements (callouts, tabsets)

DON'T:

❌ Assume prerequisite knowledge
❌ Skip explanations
❌ Use jargon without defining
❌ Overcomplicate examples

Code Standards

Follow language-specific style guides (PEP 8 for Python)
Include docstrings and comments
Test all code before including
Provide complete, runnable examples

Diagram Standards

Use consistent color palette
Follow naming convention: chXX-figYY-description.ext
Include fig-cap and fig-alt for accessibility
Use templates for consistency

See: docs/DIAGRAM_STANDARDS.md for details

🎓 OBE Integration

This template is designed for Outcome-Based Education:

Learning Outcomes

Each chapter specifies CLO (Course Learning Outcomes) alignment
Objectives are measurable and assessable
Progressive skill building

Assessment

Pre-reading quizzes check prerequisite knowledge
Self-checks verify immediate understanding
Problem sets assess application
Labs evaluate practical skills
Projects measure comprehensive mastery

Flipped Classroom

Pre-class materials (videos, reading, pre-quiz)
In-class activities (discussion, collaboration)
Post-class practice (labs, problem sets)

See: docs/OBE_INTEGRATION.md for implementation guide

🔧 Advanced Features

Custom Themes

Edit styles/custom.scss to customize appearance:

// Change primary color
$primary-color: #1a5f7a;

// Adjust spacing, fonts, etc.

Multi-language Support

Change language in _quarto.yml:

# Indonesian (default)
lang: id

# English
lang: en

Update crossref terms as needed.

Interactive Code

Enable interactive code cells (requires additional setup):

execute:
  echo: true
  eval: true

PDF Customization

Edit latex/preamble.tex for LaTeX-specific customization.

📖 Documentation

Comprehensive guides are in the docs/ folder:

Document	Description
TEMPLATE_GUIDE.md	Complete usage instructions
DIAGRAM_STANDARDS.md	Visual design guidelines (40 pages)
DIAGRAM_QUICK_REFERENCE.md	Quick diagram lookup (3 pages)
OBE_INTEGRATION.md	OBE implementation guide
QUICK_START.md	Step-by-step setup

🤝 Contributing

This is an open template for educational use. Improvements welcome!

Ways to Contribute

Report bugs or issues
Suggest improvements
Share your e-book examples
Improve documentation
Add new templates or examples

How to Contribute

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Make your changes
Test thoroughly
Submit a pull request

📄 License

This template is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).

You are free to:

Share - Copy and redistribute in any medium or format
Adapt - Remix, transform, and build upon the material

Under the following terms:

Attribution - Give appropriate credit, provide link to license
ShareAlike - Distribute under same license
No additional restrictions - No legal/technical measures restricting what license permits

💬 Support

Documentation: Check docs/ folder first
Issues: GitHub Issues
Discussions: GitHub Discussions
Quarto Help: Quarto Documentation

🙏 Acknowledgments

This template builds upon:

Quarto - Open-source scientific publishing system
Best practices from academic e-book projects
Contributions from educators and developers
Student feedback from pilot courses

📊 Examples

E-books built with this template:

[Example 1] - Description and link
[Example 2] - Description and link
[Your e-book here!] - Share your work

🗺️ Roadmap

Future improvements planned:

⚡ Quick Links

Template Version: 1.0 Last Updated: December 2025 Maintained by: [girnot/Lab Pluto Swiss-Seeng]

🌟 If this template helps you, please give it a star on GitHub!

Built with ❤️ for educators and learners

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 2 Commits
appendices		appendices
assessments		assessments
chapters		chapters
docs		docs
images		images
labs		labs
latex		latex
styles		styles
.gitignore		.gitignore
LICENSE		LICENSE
QUICK_START.md		QUICK_START.md
README.md		README.md
_quarto.yml		_quarto.yml
how-to-use.qmd		how-to-use.qmd
index.qmd		index.qmd
preface.qmd		preface.qmd
references.bib		references.bib
references.qmd		references.qmd
requirements.txt		requirements.txt

License

girnot/Quarto-Academic-E-Book-Template

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