corporations foundations
Education Home
historyday
History Day
students-and-parents
Students and Parents
theme-and-topics
Theme and Topics
contests-and-judging
Contests and Judging
prepare-competition
Prepare
school-contests
School Contests
regional-events
Regional Events
research-papers
Papers
podcasts
Podcasts
state-history-day
State History Day
national-event
National Event
judges
Judges
curriculum-and-timeline
Curriculum and Timeline
el-curriculum
EL Curriculum
Field Trips
Field Trips

Northern Lights Interactive eBook Tips and Support

Northern Lights Interactive eBook Tips and Support

Information about how to access the Northern Lights Interactive eBook, including troubleshooting tips and answers to frequently asked questions. Please contact Sarah Aschbrenner with specific questions sarah.aschbrenner@mnhs.org | 651-259-3489

How to access the Northern Lights Interactive eBook


There are two options for accessing the Northern Lights Interactive eBook as a teacher or student:

Web browser access


Learn about the features, functionality, navigation, login process, and more for the Northern Lights Interactive eBook on a web browser.

NOTE: The Interactive eBook platform and function remains the same as the Revised Second Edition. This video will be updated to reflect the new look of the Northern Lights Third Edition. 

These infographics provide an at-a-glance view of the features, functionality, and navigation of the Northern Lights Interactive eBook on a web browser.

An instructional screenshot of the 'Northern Lights' web browser home page. Red arrows and text label navigation features, including the search bar, account management icon, left-hand menu, and instructions to click chapter covers or scroll to view additional resources.An instructional screenshot of the 'Northern Lights' eBook inside a chapter. Red arrows explain the left-hand toolbar icons for navigating home, searching, highlighting, adding notes, zooming, and listening to text, plus a bookmark tool at the top right.

What devices and web browsers does the Northern Lights Interactive eBook work on?

The Interactive eBook is optimized for use on iPads, Chromebooks, Macs, PCs, and the Microsoft Surface. It will also work on most other devices with web browser access, including tablets and smartphones, though full functionality may not be available.

The web browser version can be accessed on all major browsers, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge.

How do I access the Northern Lights Interactive eBook in a web browser?

Your school or district may deliver the Interactive eBook to you through a delivery app such as Clever, ClassLink, Schoology, or Google Classroom. You will have a unique login username and password that may be saved through your delivery app.

To go directly to the Interactive eBook homepage to access the eBook, enter nl.mnhs.org into your device’s web browser. Log into the eBook using the information your school or district has provided. You will have a unique username and password.

Once logged in, click on the image of a chapter to open and read it.

iPad app access


Learn about the features, functionality, navigation, login process, and more for the Northern Lights Interactive eBook on an iPad.

NOTE: The Interactive eBook platform and function remains the same as the Revised Second Edition. This video will be updated to reflect the new look of the Northern Lights Third Edition. 

These infographics provide an at-a-glance view of the features, functionality, and navigation of the Northern Lights Interactive eBook on an iPad.

An instructional screenshot of the 'Northern Lights' iPad app home page. Red arrows and labels identify key functions, such as searching, viewing all chapters, tapping covers to read, managing downloaded chapters, accessing account settings, and deleting downloads.An instructional screenshot of the 'Northern Lights' iPad app inside a chapter. Red arrows label tools like the home button, highlighting, and audio playback, along with a bottom toolbar for navigating sections, searching, taking notes, drawing, adding sticky notes, and clearing annotations.

How do I access the Northern Lights Interactive eBook in the iPad app?

The Interactive eBook is hosted within the MNHS Education app for iPads. You first need to load the free MNHS Education app onto your iPad. Find the App Store on your iPad, search "mnhs education", and download the app onto your device.

Schools/districts may install the iPad app on devices in different ways. It may be mirrored out to district iPads using a Mobile Device Management (MDM) system, or the app may be installed manually on iPads.

This app was updated on July 1, 2024. Please make sure you are using the most current version of the app. The app requires iOS 13 or newer (version of Apple’s operating system).

How do I read chapter content?

Once the MNHS Education app has been downloaded onto an iPad, open the app and login using the method your school or district has set up. You will have a unique username and password.

Your school or district may deliver the iPad app version of the Interactive eBook to you through a delivery app such as Clever, ClassLink, Schoology, or Google Classroom. You will have a unique login username and password that may be saved through your delivery app.

To read a chapter, tap on the image of a chapter to download it onto your device and then open it. Each chapter is a large file, so it may take several minutes to download, depending on the speed of your internet connection. A downloaded chapter can be accessed offline without an internet connection.

Troubleshooting tips


Chapters in the Interactive eBook won’t open when accessed via the Chrome browser.

If you are experiencing trouble accessing the Interactive eBook on the Chrome browser, it may be because your Chrome browser’s settings block third-party cookies. The Interactive eBook requires the use of cookies to function. Adjust the Chrome browser cookie settings by following these steps:

1. If you see an eye image with a line through it on the right end of the address bar, click on it.

2. A window will open. Click on “Site not working?”

A browser pop-up notification indicating that third-party cookies are blocked. A large green arrow points to a link at the bottom that reads 'Site not working?'.

3. Click on “Allow cookies.” This should solve the issue.

A browser pop-up titled 'Site not working?' explaining that allowing cookies might fix page loading issues. A large green arrow points to a blue 'Allow cookies' button in the bottom right corner.

The username and password are not working.

School-purchased logins are required to access the Interactive eBook. Check with your school about the method you should be using to login. It may be Clever, Classlink, Google Classroom or something similar.

Chapters are taking a long time to download/stream.

The Interactive eBook contains large video and audio files. Accessing the Interactive eBook with a slow internet connection or at the same time on multiple devices may cause it to download and/or stream very slowly. Internet speeds and usage in your area may also affect the download/stream speed of the Interactive eBook.

Can Interactive eBook content be accessed without a dedicated internet connection (WiFi)?

Yes, but access via a device’s cellular network (not WiFi) may use significant data as the videos and audio are large files. Additionally, when accessing via the iPad app, chapters that have been downloaded onto an iPad can be viewed without needing an internet connection or using cellular data.

The Interactive eBook iPad app isn’t working.

Be sure the MNHS Education app is updated to the most recent version, which launched on July 1, 2024. The Interactive eBook requires iOS 13 or newer.

A chapter previously downloaded from the Interactive eBook iPad app onto my iPad is now gone.

If a chapter previously downloaded is no longer available, the device ran out of storage and the chapter download was deleted off your device. Interactive eBook chapters are large files and iPads have limited storage. Simply re-download the chapter to access the content. To preserve storage space on your iPad, limit the number of chapters downloaded at one time. Delete chapters you don’t need by clicking on the three dots next to the chapter icon, and choosing “About this eBook.” Click on the trash icon to delete the chapter. Or, you can delete other content files stored on your iPad.

School/district tech support


You will get an admin account once you have purchased Northern Lights. You can access this admin account at MNHS Studio.

The Administrator's Guide for school/district administrators will walk you through creating accounts, assigning content, managing licenses, and more.

If the web servers listed below are blocked by the IT department at a school or district, the Northern Lights Interactive eBook will not function. Please whitelist them, if necessary.

  • www.mnhs.org
  • mnhs.org
  • mnhs.kitaboo.com
  • cloud.kitaboo.com
  • preview.kitaboo.com
  • microservices.kitaboo.com
  • widgets.kitaboo.com
  • author.kitaboo.com
  • cloud-us.kitaboo.com

Contact


If questions or issues remain, please contact the Northern Lights team.

Privacy policy and terms of service


Learn more on the Northern Lights Interactive eBook privacy policyand terms of service.