Paper vs. Digital: Does It Matter?

"Do people read as well on screens as they do on paper?"

According to the New York Times article "Reading Literature Online: A Price For Convenience?" researchers in France and Norway looked at this question.  I found the results a bit surprising.  Readers who used e readers and those who used paper books responded similarly to emotional measures and to questions regarding setting. But...the e readers fell apart quite a bit on questions about time and sequencing.

Such results raise questions certainly in the field of education.  More and more we are using electronic books and tests and online resources to teach our curriculum and meet our standards.  Further, we are even beginning to evaluate our success rate by testing more and more digitally.  Students' graduations and teachers' evaluations depend on these results.  We need to be sure we are providing the best opportunities for success.

One researcher noted, “It’s all one complex web that we need to start disentangling...” The study might still provide fodder for those who insist that reading a novel on a screen just isn’t the same. “It’s a confirmation that these ergonomic dimensions, the tactile feedback of holding paper, might actually matter,” she said. Certainly educators will be watching and reading as this web is disentangled!