Author(s): Kaveri Subrahmanyam, California State University, Los Angeles, CA, USA & Children's Digital Media Center @ Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Minas Michikyan, California State University, Los Angeles, CA, USA & Children's Digital Media Center @ Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Christine Clemmons, Children's Digital Media Center @ Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA & University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Rogelio Carrillo, California State University, Los Angeles, CA, USA & Children's Digital Media Center @ Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Yalda T. Uhls, Children's Digital Media Center @ Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA & University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Patricia M. Greenfield, Children's Digital Media Center @ Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA & University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
INTRODUCTION
Electronic screens such as those found in computers, laptops, tablet computers, and e-readers are increasingly used to read text, and it is important to consider their implications for student learning. Data collected by the Pew Internet and American Project suggest that, as of May 2013, 56% of American adults owned a smartphone (e.g., Android, iPhone) and 34% owned a tablet computer; as of April 2012, 61% owned a laptop and 58% owned a desktop computer (Brenner, 2013; Zickuhr, 2013). In 2010, between 59% and 93% of U.S. college students (community college, undergraduate, and graduate students) reported owning a desktop or a laptop computer (Smith, et al., 2011). Among youth, a 2012 survey of U.S. 12- to 17-year-olds reported that 93% have home computer access, 37% own a smartphone, and 23% have a tablet computer; one in four reported that they are "cell-mostly" Internet users, who use their phone to go online most of the time (Madden & Lenhart, 2013). Moreover, tablets and electronic books are being adopted by students of all ages for access to textbooks and other instructional materials (Hu, 2011; Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2011) and recently, the Los Angeles Unified District approved iPads for every child in the district's schools (Blume, 2013).
Given that electronic screens have become pervasive, it is important to examine how individuals process, comprehend, and utilize digital text compared with text on the traditional medium of paper. This paper describes two studies that examined the relative effectiveness and efficiency of screens versus paper for reading as well as synthesizing information and writing a research-based report under naturalistic conditions. Because so much reading and writing takes place in environments that include access to the Internet or to a cell phone, multitasking while reading or writing on the computer has also come into play. The effects of the resulting distraction on reading (Study 1) and report-writing (Study 2) are also explored in the present research. The results have potentially important implications for both formal and informal learning.
ELECTRONIC SCREENS AS CULTURAL TOOLS
Why would we expect electronic screens or the particular reading medium to affect how learners process text? To answer this question, we turn to Vygotsky's proposal that cognitive development is mediated by the semiotic mechanisms or...