Do we learn less from e-books?

Szalavitz, M. (2012) Do E-Books Make It Harder to Remember What You Just Read? Time Healthland, March 14

This excellent article looks at research done at the University of Leicester, and also draws on experience from a number of people, that suggests that ‘physical books are best when you want to study complex ideas and concepts that you wish to integrate deeply into your memory……This doesn’t mean that there isn’t a place for e-text books or computerized courseware, however. Different media have different strengths.’

Comment

As someone who has recently switched to the Kobo e-reader for reading novels, I found this article really resonated with me. It seems that ‘deep’ remembering is very strongly associated with spatial cues and a wider visual context than just the written words. You don’t get that broader visual context with simple e-readers such as Kobo. This doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy using my Kobo – it’s great when travelling, especially on planes (except that I often have to wait between taxiing and after take-off, until the seat belt signs come on, as it’s an electrical device.) However, I frequently lose the plot!

First, it must be acknowledged that much more research needs to be done on whether printed texts are better for ‘deep’ memory. However, this needs to be done before the printed textbook becomes a dodo. More likely, we need to look more carefully at the interface of electronic readers, and pay much more attention as to the design of digital text for different kinds of appliances. In this context, I suspect iPads rule, and Blackberry’s and other mobile phones are poor devices for ‘deep’ knowing.

Thanks to Jim Ellis’s excellent eLC Digest No. 93 for directing me to this.