Virginia Clinton, an education professor at the University of North Dakota, analyzed 33 studies published since 2008 and found that children and adults tend to remember more of what they’ve read on paper compared with digital devices such as e-readers, tablets, and computers.
But, there’s a catch: Many of the inherent advantages of digital devices – such as hyperlinking, commenting, and multimedia, were eliminated to allow for ‘direct comparisons of the media.’ In addition, the actual advantages of paper were ‘rather small,’ the study conceded.The newest digital reading tools can enhance note taking, encourage students to read collaboratively, and incorporate pop quizzes – all of which can clearly tilt the benefits in digital’s favour.
Personally, I find that I retain more from books than from digital devices, but that probably is because I did not grow up with digital devices. It will be interesting to find out whether the next generation even picks up books to read. Time will tell.
