Hi Priya,
In a lot of ways, I feel like this is one of the most important questions that we can be asking as educators. The expectation of reading digital texts is literally everywhere for students and adults alike. I wanted to expand this topic into a Deep Dive, but I quickly came to the conclusion that we don’t know more than we do know about this. Studies that have been done tend to show that digital texts do have an impact on comprehension- especially for challenging texts- but technology is progressing faster than the research can keep up with, and there are too many variables in both the presentation of the digital text as well as the readers themselves.
Because I think age is always an important context when discussing digital texts, I’ll share that I’m what has been described as an “elder millennial,” but I prefer the less succinct “micro-generation in the bubble years between Millennials and Gen X.” Several years ago, I would have answered this question very differently. I would have shared that my reading comprehension was sufficient using digital texts as long as it wasn’t overly long or complex material; that I preferred to read paper books and printed journal articles so that I could comfortably read glare- and strain-free as well as annotate with pen and highlighters when reading challenging texts to aid in my comprehension. Research would have supported my anecdotal claims.
Now, I rarely print articles or read paper books. The problems I faced with digital reading even a handful of years ago have been largely resolved with advances in technology, such as reduced blue light, and the capabilities of a high-performance tablet with a pressure-sensitive, fine-tip stylus. While there are still some benefits of paper texts that are lost (e.g., the spatial orientation of where I am in a novel, the pleasant sensory experience of holding and writing on paper), the convenience of using a tablet (immediately accessing materials without waste; easily organizing all of my references; being able to perform key word searches) simply outweighs the negatives.
What digital reading looks like is changing so rapidly, and is so variable by context and program, that research struggles to keep up. Digital reading could hypothetically be impacted if presented on a tablet flat on a desk, angled upright on a laptop or desktop screen, or if the student is allowed to angle or hold the screen at a position of their choosing. Are young children allowed to trace a finger under the text while reading, or do the touchscreen capabilities confuse this action? Are additional tabs, notifications, and sounds present, or are these controlled for in the tested digital platform? Do the interactive capabilities of many digital reading programs enhance comprehension, or do some features (or sheer number of features) increase distractedness? Is digital text comprehension different when reading for pleasure, classwork, an instructional or intervention program, or when used as a screener or assessment? I could go on, but you can see how taking the results of any singular research study has very little ability to be generalized to broader contexts. You’ll notice that I can’t even begin to surmise how the increasingly rampant use of AI is impacting any of this.
Additionally, in the same vein that I felt the need to reference my age to contextualize my personal opinions reading digitally, we can’t underestimate the impact that children’s digital experiences both in and out of school are likely impacting their comprehension of digital texts. Some discussions on this topic have segregated younger generations as “digital natives,” and have delineated pre- and post-millennial research on the topic accordingly. I’d argue, however, that the digital experiences of the “COVID babies” now in Kindergarten (and their immediate elders currently in early elementary grades) are vastly different than that of today’s older teenagers born in the aughts. That is to say, I really don’t think there’s much, if any, research that applies to today’s elementary students and today’s technology.
This is my long-winded way of saying ‘I don’t know! And I don’t think anyone really does.’ Kate Cain comes to the same conclusion at the end of her recent AIM Symposium presentation and issues a call to action for this very topic to be further studied. One consistent concern that educators and researchers alike share is that digital reading may contribute to superficial reading. We can't say that is definitely true for all readers in all situations, but we can agree that superficial reading negatively impacts comprehension. Therefore, regardless of the format used while reading, implementing a reading routine that encourages comprehension monitoring is likely to be beneficial. For example, teach students to (1) pause regularly after each paragraph or heading to jot a note, and (2) conduct frequent self-checks asking, “What is another way to say or summarize the section I just read?”
I do think it’s wise to be wary of how digital texts (and screen time in general) may be impacting students, and provide ample experiences with paper-based reading as well. But a radical approach in either shunning or embracing technology can’t currently be justified in terms of reading comprehension.