Axios: Why books win

Why books win
Animated illustration of one book turning into 15 books.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
 
New technologies — laptops, tablets and smart whiteboards — have steadily entered classrooms. But newer isn’t always better.

Researchers are digging into whether the tech is actually improving learning and finding that the studies make a strong case for returning to old-school books, Markham Heid writes for Time.

The big picture: The key case study is Norway, where most students have done most of their coursework on tablets and laptops.

But now, schools are stripping devices from classrooms — especially for children under 10 — as growing evidence links screen use to poorer reading performance and lower reading enjoyment.

🔎 Zoom in: Marte Blikstad-Balas, a professor at the University of Oslo, and an expert on the use of tech in education, zeroed in on the difference between screens and paper in a reading comprehension study, Heid reports.

Eighth graders were directed to answer questions about passages they’d read on paper versus on screens. Blikstad-Balas and her team found that students answered more questions correctly and had to refer back to the text fewer times when reading on paper.

In another paper, published in Pediatrics in 2019, the study authors found that parents and toddlers talked to each other and talked about the story less when they were looking at e-books versus print books.

👀 Between the lines: There are a few explanations for why kids do better reading old-school books.

The tactile experience of reading on paper may help the brain process and retain information more effectively.

Screens introduce distractions that don’t exist on the page.

We’re used to scrolling and scanning on screens, while books encourage slower, more focused reading.

What we’re watching: Research on tech in the classroom is leading to more screen bans but, for students with disabilities, screens hold more promise than negatives. And advocates are urging schools to think carefully about blanket bans.

The bottom line: Buy books or get a library card for yourself and the kids in your life. Books still win!
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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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