Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ On limiting learning and impairing comprehension with mobile technologies

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community
Reading this post my main reaction was "Where's the real Artichoke and what did you do with her?" I wonder, because this attack on reading online seems uncharacteristic. It's not that she holds an unpopular view; no, nothing new there, Artichoke is a wealth of opinions from all across the spectrum. It's just that this particular item seems so, well, shallow. Would the real Artichoke say "The ways in which reading from a screen can limit learning and comprehension is not common knowledge for governments, parents, educators, students or sales representatives. Any caveat over readability issues and the betrayal of learning outcomes is largely ignored?" Would the real Artichoke use 10-year-old data like this: "Reading text (long-form) is slower on tablets (iPad, Kindle) than reading print text for adults (with at least high school levels of literacy). Research on reading speeds suggests that reading on paper is between 10% to 30% faster than reading online. (Jakob Nielsen and Kurniawan, S., and P Zaphiris (2001) Reading Online or on Paper: Which is Faster?" Please bring back the real Artichokle, the one who knows people do talk about outcomes, all the time, and that today's e-reading devices make those of 2001 look like Palm Pilots... no, wait, they were Palm Pilots.

Today: 7 Total: 91 [Direct link] [Share]

Image from the website


Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

Copyright 2024
Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 10:27 p.m.

Canadian Flag Creative Commons License.

Force:yes