Chapter 4 delves into research comparing reading single printed texts versus digital versions. The beginning section considers what we know about using digital books with young children for different purposes: social interaction, linguistic or cognitive development, or engagement. Most of the chapter focuses on research with school-age readers. The discussion is organized around four issues. First, what kind of measures were used? Variables include user perception studies versus experiments, type of experimental questions, and speed. Second, does the length or genre of the text affect results? Third, what is the role of technology, including digital paging versus scrolling, along with adaptive text display? And fourth, how much are experimental results explained by the mindset (metacognition) we bring to reading in print versus digitally? Among the considerations are students’ ability to correctly predict success when reading in the two media (calibration) and motivation for reading.
The role of collaboration in the cognitive development of young children: a systematic review
