Reading for Fun - and Comprehension
reading on tablet
Do you prefer reading from a printed page or a digital screen? Do you comprehend more when reading from paper than from a screen (or vice versa)? Does your age play a role in your preference? What about your attitude? These are all questions which have been studied in the last 20 years or so - in other words - in the "digital age." While definitive results elude us, here are some of the more common findings:
People approach computers and tablets with a state of mind less conducive to learning than they approach reading from paper
E-readers prevent people from navigating long texts in an intuitive and satisfying way
People report that when they are trying to locate a particular piece of information, they can recall where it appears in a text - not so with digital displays of the same content
These navigation difficulties subtly inhibit reading comprehension
Reading digitally leads to more difficulty in comprehension because it is more physically and mentally taxing
When reading from a screen, people spend more time browsing, scanning and hunting for key words
When people really like an e-book they go out and buy the paper version! According to research by Microsoft, people see e-books as something to use, but not own
Makes you re-think the delivery modality of your training materials, no? Learn more about the research in this area by reading this Scientific American article (on line, of course).
