Print vs Digital: Another Divide
One of the many things that struck me during this course is the fact that, at least for now, we are divided between printed pages and digital text. Some prefer to print all the course materials out, while others prefer to keep things entirely digital. My first instinct, having just started the program was to print everything, but decided to keep in the spirit of our “paperless office” (a nearly impossible paradigm) at home. I confess, though, to having taken at least 160 pages worth of notes, so I have not exactly been “paperless.” Sometimes digital-only is a struggle. Several posts throughout the course have brought the dichotomy between printed and digital back to me in various ways.
In Learning to read (again)! Clangford discusses the transition from reading printed text to reading digital text. The author feels much more comfortable reading printed pages but feels that new skills should be developed in order to improve digital reading. As quoted by Clangford, “reading electronic documents requires learned skills in the same way that reading paper documents does,“ (Keep, McLaughlin, & Parmar, 1995). Clangford futher discusses the distractions of hypertext which add an “extra layer of thinking to my task of reading,” and the potentially disorienting challenge of non-sequential reading,
Joshua Campbell takes us in a different direction It Takes Me Longer, Because I Read More Carefully – E-Books vs. Print Books, Campbell looks at the somewhat surprising 2015 research showing that young college students preferred print books to e-books. The fact that “digital natives” prefer print is ascribed in part to the eyestrain, distractibility, and poorer recall of material. Campbell describes the various advantages off the printed book – such as materiality and closure – and posits that there will always be printed books.
Finally, in A Vygotskian link towards Augmenting Intellect, author Justin Oullette discusses, in part how the Oullette’s “latent capabilities” (Englebart, 1962) are augmented by using a tablet for academic reading. The author observes that not only is the reader able to take advantage of annotation applications, the ability to change text, a built in dictionary, and adjustable brightness for any situation, but also:
Furthermore, I have the mobility to take the readings with me wherever I go; they are only as cumbersome as the static weight of my tablet. As a result, I find that I am more attentive to my readings as they are less strenuous on my eyes and, through the use of a stylus, I’m able to constantly move through the text, without changing much of the vertical positioning of my sight, thus increasing my fluency.
Oullette, by using the tablet, has achieved “higher order capabilities” in fluency, accuracy, organization, and recall of key concepts. All without reading the “tiresome layout of A4 print on paper.”
These different views suggest to me that we are very much in flux. I agree that printed materials will be with us, at very least, for some time to come. But, as Clangford proposes, perhaps many of us have not yet perfected the new skills needed to deal with digital texts. And perhaps we won’t have to in our lifetimes.
References
Englebart, D. (1962). A conceptual framework for the augmentation of man’s intellect. Retrieved from http://www.dougengelbart.org/pubs/augment-3906.html
Keep, C., McLaughlin, T., & Parmar, R. (1995). The electronic labyrinth. Retrieved from:http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/elab/hfl0262.html
Puzzle (n.d.) Retrived from https://pixabay.com/en/puzzle-riddle-match-connect-colors-150932/
Great post Mary! I can relate to that feeling of being torn between the comfort and familiarity of print and advantages offered through digital media.
As stated by Bolter (2008) “Each writing space is a material and visual field, whose properties are determined by a writing technology and the uses to which that technology is put by a culture of readers and writers. A writing space is generated by the interaction of material properties and cultural choices and practices”. As we have learned throughout the course, writing spaces give way to reading spaces, and my interpretation of this quote is that different representations of text are warranted, depending on the audience and situation. While digital media, such as tablets, have provided a more mobile and interactive means for accessing, reading, and organizing information, I think that print is still the preferred option in certain cases. Just as we still incorporate oral reading and storytelling into certain facets of our lives, we continue to recognize the hardcopy book as a reading tool that offers closure and a linear interaction with information.
Although I’m sure many people use tablets for story time with their children (it would mean fewer books lying around!), there is something about flipping through the pages that is nostalgic for parents and exciting for children. I loved turning the pages when my mother read to me as a child, and my infant daughter already likes to do the same- although, I am pretty sure she is just trying to put the book in her mouth!
Digital media, which has essentially brought texts from book to screen, has made reading more of a cognitively demanding activity, as we find ourselves confronted with more visual graphics and links to pique our curiosity. Just as a lack of spaces between words, as seen on papyrus and scrolls during the Medieval ages, made text more difficult to read, new technology has demanded a greater amount of mental energy and focus when reading (Carr, 2010). While this type of stimulation and engagement can enhance the learning process, sometimes it is nice to pick up a book, knowing exactly where it begins and ends. As you mentioned, the use of digital reading materials doesn’t need to be “all or nothing”, however, once we develop the skills necessary to implements its use, it is a great medium to use.
Reference
Bolter, Jay David. (2001). Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print [2nd edition]. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Carr, N. (Producer). (2010). From papyrus to ipad: the evolution of reading. [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://bigthink.com/videos/from-papyrus-to-ipad-the-evolution-of-reading
Hi Mary,
Thank you for your thoughtful post. I love how you created wove your narrative with these carefully selected contributions from our peers. I would add to your message that it seems we are almost in a time of tool agnosticism; we use the right tool for the right job at the right time when it seems fit to do so. While I complete almost all of my work online exclusively (through tools like Google Drive and .pdf annotators on my iPad), I actually keep a small scribble book to track my weekly to-dos, reminders for assignments, notes, and to jot down any quick ideas I have. Certainly there is “an app for that” (I actually have paid for one!), but it doesn’t fit with my brain at this time, and with that, I am okay!
Thank you for your thoughtful contributions throughout this course and best of luck with your continued studies in the MET program!
Victoria