Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize in no more than 60 words the main idea of the passage and how it is illustrated. Use your own words as far as possible.The enduring power of print for learning in a digital world
Today's students see themselves as digital natives, the first generation to grow up surrounded by technology like smartphones, tablets and e-readers. We’ve seen students now equipped with school-issued iPads and access to e-textbooks. Given this trend, it might be assumed that students' familiarity and preference for technology translates into better learning outcomes. But more and more studies show that it’s not always the case. So, there are some lessons that can be conveyed to us about print’s place in an increasingly digital world.
We all read for many reasons. Sometimes we're looking for an answer to a very specific question. Other times, we want to browse a newspaper for today’s headlines. As we’re about to pick up an article or text in a printed or digital format, we should keep in mind why we're reading. There’s likely to be a difference in which medium works best for which purpose.
One of the most consistent findings of the studies is that, for some tasks, medium doesn't seem to matter. If all students are being asked to do is to understand and remember the big idea or gist of what they’re reading, there’s no benefit in selecting one medium over another. But when the reading assignment demands more engagement or deeper comprehension, students may be better off reading print. Teachers could make students aware that their ability to comprehend the assignment may be influenced by the medium they choose. This awareness could lessen the difference in students’ judgments of their performance compared with how they actually performed.
In another experiment, researchers were able to create meaningful records of college students based on the way they read and comprehended from printed and digital texts. Among those records, it was found that a select group of undergraduates who actually comprehended better when they moved from print to digital. But they actually read slower when the text was on the computer than when it was in a book. Using this select group as a model, students could possibly be taught or directed to fight the tendency to glide through online texts.
