I do think young people use technology in a different manner to older generations. For example, my son can have three scans on (mobile, laptop and desktop), chat with friends whilst doing ‘homework’ and seems to move at ease from one device to another. Recently, I tried to multitask like this…I tried to watch a live stream soccer game in which my son was playing (parents not allowed to be physically present due to covid) AND listen to a recorded uni Zoom lecture at the same time. It was a disaster…I couldn’t focus properly on either! So yes, I think my son uses technology very differently to what I do, but I can’t ascertain if he is being effective in doing so or not.
E-books have not really “taken off” in our school, despite easy, no cost access. Anecdotally, the majority of students in our middle and high school still prefer printed material. In fact, research done by Jeong (2012) in Korea (where our school is), mirrors what I hear anecdotally. This is echoed by relatively recent research (please see my paragraph in my recent blog post about the future of libraries and studies exploring the reading preferences of students). Some researchers have suggested that our brains digest online information differently to that presented in print, and that we don’t attend as much to deep/close reading when on a device (Liu, 2005). It seems that the sheer physicality of books increases comprehension (Mangen et al., 2013), and recall (Jabr, 2013; Mangen et al., 2019). I know for myself that when I have highlighted/annotated print and have then done the same online (annotating with comments in google docs for example), I can recall information from the printed text much more easily – where and when it occurred inside the text.
I do really like the transmedia forms as explained in module 4- where readers have access to print, then go online for extension games, clues, information, audio etc. In this, there seems to be the best of both worlds?
I don’t want to be a ‘stuck in the mud’ teacher/learner TL. I’m just concerned that when I read articles such as Cullen (2015), there are many claims about the benefits of interactive media and learning but little research provided in the article to support them. We do live in a multimodal world, our students are steeped in it (Short, 2018, p. 290) so we must be teaching students how to read critically within these multiple literacies. But erring significantly on the digital form too soon, without further research, may cause the loss of print benefits.
I was struck by a comment by Maryanne Wolf (a developmental psychologist and cognitive scientist at Tufts university) and I feel it rings true: “There is physicality in reading, maybe even more than we want to think about as we lurch into digital reading—as we move forward perhaps with too little reflection. I would like to preserve the absolute best of older forms, but know when to use the new.” (Wolf in Jabr, 2013).
References
Cullen, M. (2015, December 21). How is interactive media changing the way children learn? https://educationtechnologysolutions.com.au/2015/12/how-is-interactive-media-changing-the-way-children-learn/
Jabr, F. (2013, April 11). The reading brain in the digital age: The science of paper versus screens. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/
Jeong, H. (2012). A comparison of the influence of electronic books and paper books on reading comprehension, eye fatigue, and perception. The Electronic Library, 30(3), 390-408. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640471211241663
Liu, Z. (2005). Reading behavior in the digital environment. Journal of Documentation, 61(6), 700-712. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410510632040
Mangen, A., Olivier, G., & Velay, J.-L. (2019). Comparing comprehension of a long text read in print book and on kindle: Where in the text and when in the story? Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00038
Mangen, A., Walgermo, B. R., & Brønnick, K. (2013). Reading linear texts on paper versus computer screen: Effects on reading comprehension. International Journal of Educational Research, 58, 61-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2012.12.002
Short, K. G. (2018). What’s trending in children’s literature and why it matters. Language Arts, 95(5), 287-298.