My anecdotal findings about print's superiority were seconded earlier this month by an academic study presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. The paper, "Medium Matters: Newsreaders' Recall and Engagement With Online and Print Newspapers" (pdf), by Arthur D. Santana, Randall Livingstone, and Yoon Cho of the University of Oregon, pit a group of readers of the print edition of the New York Times against Web-Times readers. Each group was given 20 minutes reading time and asked to complete a short survey.
The researchers found that the print folks "remember significantly more news stories than online news readers"; that print readers "remembered significantly more topics than online newsreaders"; and that print readers remembered "more main points of news stories." When it came to recalling headlines, print and online readers finished in a draw.I wonder what transferability there might be between this study of newspapers and other sorts of reading? What does this suggest about the medium of delivery (i.e. a printed book or even a photocopy of an article in contrast to a PDF or web-page) and the actual information delivered and received by the reader/student?
I do worry a bit that the cost savings of providing full-text on-line to students can undermine the primary reason for the assignment, namely to learn from the reading. Certainly there must be ways to overcome the problem. Taking notes would be one that hearkens back to the days when books were scarce or to using a library book in which one does not make marks. The very act of making notes channels the information and insights through one's muscles in a way that can add memory. Needing to take notes would also slow the process of reading from the skimming that often passes for reading on-line.
4 comments:
I know of one definite aspect of paper newspapers that is superior to online newspapers: online newspapers make lousy fly-swatters.
Yes. There is no dispute there. So the question arises: are there other technologies for swatting flies that are superior to a newspaper? And also, is a secondary use a valid support for a technology?
The study might have meaning if they could explain how cognitive ability was affected by the medium we read. Somehow I find it hard to believe my memory will improve because a held paper in my hands.
If I wear a paper hat made from newspapers will it keep Alzheimer’s away?
My hunch is that the difference is not explained by the media so much as by differences in human use. I know that I tend to read a paper copy more slowly and closely than the same material presented on a screen. If there are also changes in graphic presentation, that also effects where I direct my attention.
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