Baron's article also cited more recent research by Kaufman and Flanagan (2016) that found that students reading digitally did well on answering concrete questions. Schugar et al (2011) found that participants reading on-screen used fewer study strategies such as note-taking. This study noted that when students have a choice, they spent less time on digital reading, and had lower comprehension scores. In Naomi Baron's 2017 article, Reading in a digital age, her review of related research included a 2011 study by Ackerman and Goldsmith. So, do our digital reading practices foster the reflection and deep reading necessary to evaluate and respond thoughtfully to so much data and information? Comparing print and digital reading Susan Greenfield, Technology and the Human Mind (YouTube video, 23:23), TEDxOxford And then you put that same child in an environment where it has to concentrate for a long period of time it wonвЂ™t have rehearsed that skill. If you have a young brain with the evolutionary mandate вЂ¦ to adapt to the environment, and the brain is placed in an environment that is very fast-paced, requiring a little attention span where you move onto the next thing вЂ¦ the brain will obligingly adapt to that. The very plasticity of our brain - the ability to respond and adapt to our environment and its challenges - that has kept our species alive for millennia also encourages it to take on the characteristics of whatever medium it is reading on. The issues are more compelling for even younger students as their adaptation to a fast-paced digital world may be changing their brains and influencing their ability to develop these skills. screenвЂђbased reading behavior is characterized by more time spent on browsing and scanning, keyword spotting, oneвЂђtime reading, nonвЂђlinear reading, and reading more selectively, while less time is spent on inвЂђdepth reading, concentrated reading and decreasing sustained attention. The result, she writes, is more and more young people not reading other than what is required, 'and often not even that: 'tl dr' (too long didnвЂ™t read)'. There is concern, she says, that digital media and the sheer volume of online information and communication invite the fast and shallow read. And if people are skim, skim, skimming, she tells the Listener, 'and not going deeper to understand the complexity of issues, they will be far more attracted to false news or worse'. 'By and large, reading on a screen encourages multitasking, a different form of attention, a different speed of processing'. In 2018, journalist Sally Blundell interviewed neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf for The New Zealand Listener. You can cruise on YouTube or on Google going вЂyuckвЂ™ and вЂwowвЂ™, but youвЂ™re not actually making sense of things.Дigital content - finding, evaluating, using and creating it Adapting to a fast-paced world Of course, you can be bombarded with endless information, endless facts but if you canвЂ™t make sense of them, one fact is the same as any other fact. The issue is that information isnвЂ™t knowledge. As Susan Greenfield, a neuroscientist from Oxford University, comments in her 2014 interview with ABCвЂ™s Gary Rivett: We have instant knowledge of world events and everyoneвЂ™s reaction to them and can, in turn, instantly react and contribute ourselves.Д«ut not all of this information is unbiased or even relevant to our needs, and the speed at which events are reported gives us little time to evaluate sources, think critically or engage in considered reflection.

Our digital experience is enhanced by media-rich content and quick links to other sites, offering convenience, flexibility of approach, and often cheaper costs than print materials. The online world is vast and there is no sign of data creation slowing down. I often print online articles so that I can read them in hard copy because I find that easier to concentrate on.ДЇor our students who are growing up in a digital world with all its advantages and distractions, I wondered what reading practices have developed to deal with the online world and what their consequences might be. I skim the text quickly, looking for keywords that might relate to what IвЂ™m researching rather than settling in for a long read. IвЂ™ve noticed that my reading is quite different when IвЂ™m online. But when IвЂ™m reading for pleasure, I usually grab a print book.

I spend a lot of time in front of my laptop reading for research. I read differently online but what about our students? What might this mean for our students' learning and for society? Image credit: All rights reserved. Current research suggests that reading online results in lower understanding and less critical reflection.

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