Speed – at a cost

• Students overwhelming preferred to read digitally.
• Reading was significantly faster online than in print.
• Students judged their comprehension as better online than in print.
• Paradoxically, overall comprehension was better for print versus digital reading.
• The medium didn't matter for general questions (like understanding the main idea of the text).
• But when it came to specific questions, comprehension was significantly better when participants read printed texts.

Placing print in perspective

1. Consider the purpose

2. Analyze the task

3. Slow it down

4. Something that can't be measured