Part 1: Setting up a holding account

Schools that are signed up with Google Apps for Education can easily set up all of the holding accounts they need, just have your IT Administrator set them all up at once using Google’s ‘Bulk Upload Tool.’ If you are not yet using Google Apps for Education, your IT Administrator can easily register your school on the 'Sign Up' page and the service is free. 

We recommend naming each account with an easy-to-follow convention, such as ‘GreatGatsby1.TrumanHS@gmail.com’, or ‘iPad1.TrumanHS@gmail.com,’ or 'JSmith.books@gmail.com' (student’s first initial plus student’s full last name followed by ‘Books’). 

Once you've entered all of your information and accepted Google’s Terms of Service, you will receive an on-screen confirmation message that your new account is ready to use.

Part 2: Purchasing books for a holding account

Once your account has been created, you should automatically be brought to the Google Books section of the Google Play store. Search for the book you want by typing the title or author name into the search field. Then press BUY and follow Google’s checkout instructions to complete the purchase process. (To confirm you’re buying the right edition of the book, make sure the ‘About Book’ sidebar for the book lists ‘Flowing Text’ as a feature. In our experience, 99% of the time it does for current books. Info on Google Book formats >)

Part 3: Transferring books from a holding account to a student’s Subtext account

1) Open Subtext on the student’s iPad and log in with the holding account. (If the app opens directly to the student’s account, tap LOGOUT under the student’s profile picture, tap ‘Add or create an account’ on the bottom of the login screen and log in with the new holding account.)

2) Your purchased book will automatically appear on the holding account’s bookshelf. Tap READ IT to download the full book and open it.

3) From the opened book, tap SHELF in the upper-left corner to return to the bookshelf. Then tap LOGOUT under the profile picture. Now you’re ready to share the book with your student.

4) Either have the student log in to Subtext or log in as the student with her credentials. (If there’s no account set up for her, tap ‘Add or create an account’ on the login screen to create a student account.)

5)  From the student’s bookshelf, tap AUTO to bring up a menu of sorting options. Then tap MANAGE. Scroll down until you find your purchased book and tap READ IT. The book will be automatically added to the student’s shelf and available to read.