Reading plays a critical role in the journey of our development
and it's long been suggested that the earlier you get started on reading, that the more it will help to foster a large vocabulary. It strengthens our ability to take in and understand new concepts, helping us to better interact and engage with the world around us. Reading can also help us to improve writing skills, better concentration and focus, strengthen our memory and much more.
For many students these days, they will spend much of their time looking at a screen rather than reading from a page in a book. There are schools in the US with their own school-issued iPads or laptops, and a growing number of textbooks are available in electronic form.
Students today are growing up surrounded by incredible technology, but as far as helping to improve results in the way of learning, things might not be better off.
Researchers who have investigated the differences between reading digital media and print, suggest that students aren't automatically going to be better served just because they opt to read the information on a digital screen.
They say that there is a significant discrepancy here, reading performance has been seen to decline with students reading from digital screens as opposed to reading from books. They suggest that there is a disruptive effect on comprehension because of the act of scrolling.
Multiple studies have been conducted to try and investigate this relationship further, to assess which might be the superior learning method. And though they have found some differences, researchers say that there isn't any one size fits all approach to learning.
One thing to keep in mind, they say, is that it's important for students to remember why they are reading and that might help to determine which medium (books or digital) is going to be the one to work best for them.
For many students who find school textbooks to be highly overpriced, electronic options have been a beneficial cost-saving option for them. Not only that, but many students have reported that they simply prefer to read the information from a digital screen. Though you might be surprised that a great deal still enjoy reading from print books.
Reading from a book might not always promote a better result for the individual over reading from a screen, there isn't any one best option for everyone. Though, researchers do admit that there are some unique advantages that are offered from paper reading. And previous findings suggest that reading from a digital screen might promote inaccuracy, slow down reading time, and reduce comprehension.
It's estimated that only 1 in 4 Americans read a book last year.
Along with the rise in popularity for digital, it's been suggested that the love for reading traditional books has declined with many Americans. The percentage of those who've been reading short stories, poetry, and plays, is said to have been on the decline for several years now.
There isn't anything to worry about though, industry experts maintain, because love for reading print is still alive and well. There are still millions of Americans who love to read their e-books. At the moment, it's estimated that e-books account for roughly 15-20 percent of all trade book sales.
Dozens of different studies have been conducted to investigate the efficiency of both, repeatedly finding that digital reading was more physically and mentally taxing than print reading. Though, not always.
Some might find that books work best for them, while there are others who stand firm by their preference that digital is the only medium for them. Digital has been said to be cheaper and more convenient, while books are credited as being more aesthetically pleasing and less physically-taxing to use when reading. What works best for one might not be what is going to work best for someone else.
The more options that students have available to them the better, because they'll hopefully be able to find something that works best for them and their own unique needs at the time.
Pics:
Pixabay
Pixabay
Giphy
Simpsons via giphy
Sources:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/students-learn-better-from-books-than-screens-according-to-a-new-study?utm_content=buffer1332b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
http://ewn.co.za/2017/10/18/study-students-learn-better-from-books-than-screens
https://www.inc.com/peter-economy/why-reading-is-the-most-intelligent-thing-you-can-do.html
https://qz.com/1039404/end-of-textbooks/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-decline-of-the-american-book-lover/283222/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-four-americans-didnt-read-book-last-year-180960340/
http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/09/01/book-reading-2016/
http://uk.businessinsider.com/students-learning-education-print-textbooks-screens-study-2017-10