Real Reading

Even before COVID-19, digital texts were becoming more commonplace in schools. Their adoption has been led by the desire to better support reluctant readers and those with special needs, such as dyslexia and impaired vision. Of course, digital technology can play an important role in supporting children to engage and learn, often in powerful new ways that would otherwise be impossible. 

However, there is an accumulating body of research that is revealing a direct, negative relationship between how often students use computers or tablets for reading activities and how much the students actually enjoy reading. Studies have also found that some of the extra features of digital books, such as pop-ups, animation and sound, can actually distract the learner, detracting from the reading experience and reducing comprehension of the text. 

Conversely, research shows that physical books play a critical role in fostering young children’s love of reading and learning. These studies contend that children acquire stronger literacy skills when reading with an adult, followed by a discussion about what they have read, and that communal or shared reading is often a richer experience with a print book than with an eBook. 

Real books may lack the interactive features of their digital cousins, but their visual and tactile nature plays a strong role in engaging the reader, and an over-reliance on eBooks can mean a loss of engagement and conversation which is critical to not only a child’s literacy development but their social and emotional development as well. 

This is not to deny the usefulness of eBooks. But in our haste to adopt and rely on 'digital solutions' without clear justification or consideration of their effective use, we risk undervaluing the power of objects made from paper and ink.

As we emerge from a pandemic that has accelerated digital progress, we can’t let these developments obscure the place of real books in our real — as opposed to virtual — lives.

Mrs Calli Vogel

Secondary Humanities Hub Coordinator

Adapted from and citing the research referenced in Kathryn MacCallum’s article in The Conversation (25 March 2021). MacCallum is an Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury.