Do E-Books Make It Harder to Remember What You Just Read?

[Sydney's Mom]

I think this is a skill that needs to be learned. I used to be able to remember where on a page information was located, and then scroll in in my mind, to retreive the information. For example, I know that there was a discussion of X theory in a box on the bottom right hand corner of a page in the beginning of the assigned reading.

I prefer printing out materials rather than reading them from the computer screen. The physical action of highlighting or underlining helps to retain the information. Since I can do this, and don't have to worry about heavy textbooks, and only have 9-14 years of work left, I am not going to bother to try and learn the new skill of reading online. But those who are younger will have to.

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by RDaneel54

Here's one: Do you remember the time better when you look at an analog or digital clock?

Actually, yes. I remember better with an analog clock. I have ADD, and I can look at the digital clock on the microwave, while I am talking to my husband and my daughter is asking to go over to a friend's house, and 3 minutes later, I have to look again. But if I look at an analog clock, I still won't remember the time, but I can bring the image back up and look at it again in my mind.

I am just not the generation who began with technology. For heaven's sake, my first TV was black and white, and we got one channel. If you missed the cartoons on Saturday morning, you had to wait until next Saturday. Now, you can channel surf, and everything is available. My mind just doesn't work that way, and the constant bombardment of information is very difficult for someone with ADD. But, I learned how to function in school with ADD, and I am sure I could learn to learn online, but I don't have to.

So there.

Debra

[DiapDealer]

Is there a good reason to remember the time? What's the point of remembering what time it was when you last looked?

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Is there a good reason to remember the time? What's the point of remembering what time it was when you last looked?

If someone else asks you what the time is, you can then give them a pretty good approximation if you've looked at the time just a while ago, without having to look again. Happens a lot of times to me.

[RDaneel54]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Is there a good reason to remember the time? What's the point of remembering what time it was when you last looked?

Maybe I could have phrased that better. Does the time "register" better for you when you look at an analog clock or digital?

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Is there a good reason to remember the time? What's the point of remembering what time it was when you last looked?

Say I have to leave for an appt at 4:10 (I do). I can glance at the microwave clock, and see it is 3:50, but it doesn't always register. I am doing 2 other things at the same time, and the only thing I retain is "it isn't 4:10" But if I had an analog clock, I would remember I had a relatively long time until I had to leave.

Again, it is just learning to function with ADD. If I only looked at the clock, and wasn't doing anything else, either would work.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

It looks like they had to dig to find anything. Studies found that "when the exact same material is presented in both media, there is no measurable difference in student performance." So they kept digging, and found that poor psychology students and gave them economic texts to read, and found that more repetition was requires when using a computer rather than a paper text. An e-reader screen is not a computer display. The article also talks about landmarks on the paper page that help people remember. But when I'm looking at text on a page, it tends to be nothing but text on a page, whether I am reading a paper book or reading from an e-reader. A textbook can be laid out to make the data more digestible, but there's no reason this can't be done with an e-reader.

Unless we're talking about more technical books, with graphics and complex layouts.

ereaders are flat and will always present the information on that way.

Paperbooks have thickness , X number of pages. I can recall very well, that I do have a SQL 2008 book with a very nice table that display differences against SQL 2005. I remember that because it is almost at the beginning of the book. Also, when I'm in my office at home, I can visualize the same book (without knowing the title) because is red and is a "huge" book. I can see the book's spine, grab it, and open it almost on same page. On my Kindle, I will have to check one by one, as there is no "search" capability for images.

Got my point? Maybe I am not explaining myself well.

My Kindle is flat, will have the same color and can hold thousand of books. That can't be changed. So those type of nemonic aids can't be easily reproduced. Does that affect while reading novels? I don't think so. But at least on me, it has some positive effect while studying or learning technical stuff. I never though about it until I read this article.

[Hellmark]

From the studies I've seen, and my own experience, I have to say it really just depends on the way it is presented and not so much whether it is digital or not.

I know when I'm reading, i'll remember where things were are on a page. When you're on a computer, most text is set to scroll, and so you aren't able to get that physical placement. In the linked article, I made note of how the study mentioned specified "computer reading".

As far as things go, for me, on a reader, I've not noticed any difference between paper and text as far as memory goes. Stuff I read on a computer (not counting ebooks through an ebook reading program that does traditional page turns), I do notice I don't hang onto as well.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

It looks like they had to dig to find anything. Studies found that "when the exact same material is presented in both media, there is no measurable difference in student performance." So they kept digging, and found that poor psychology students and gave them economic texts to read, and found that more repetition was requires when using a computer rather than a paper text. An e-reader screen is not a computer display. The article also talks about landmarks on the paper page that help people remember.

I remember in paper books by hanging it up on if it was a left or right hand side and how long into the book it was. So a paper book is not just text.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by tompe

I remember in paper books by hanging it up on if it was a left or right hand side and how long into the book it was. So a paper book is not just text.

Right, that's what I am talking about ...

That effect may or may not be as strong, depending of the type of book and layout.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

I think this is a skill that needs to be learned. I used to be able to remember where on a page information was located, and then scroll in in my mind, to retreive the information. For example, I know that there was a discussion of X theory in a box on the bottom right hand corner of a page in the beginning of the assigned reading.

I prefer printing out materials rather than reading them from the computer screen. The physical action of highlighting or underlining helps to retain the information. Since I can do this, and don't have to worry about heavy textbooks, and onkly have 9-14 years of work left, I am not going to bother to try and learn the new skill of reading online. But those who are younger will have to.

I think perhaps younger people who read primarily or exclusively on computer screens will develop other mental tricks to retrieve infomation, unlike those of us who are older and make the connections by visualizing a page in a book.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I think perhaps younger people who read primarily or exclusively on computer screens will develop other mental tricks to retrieve infomation, unlike those of us who are older and make the connections by visualizing a page in a book.

Hmmm... interesting ...

Do you believe that such type of mnemonic aids are age related?

But you got a point. My nephew, which is 15, has been way more exposed to electronic media than when I was that same age.

Now we have Wikipedia. Even a dictionary at the touch of a button (or screen)

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by flipreads

I think it's more important for younger readers than adult readers, where memory development is crucial.

If you're a fiction reader, I think there's less impact on memorization whether reading it from a mass market paperback vs. an eReader.

Bingo!

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Hmmm... interesting ...

Do you believe that such type of mnemonic aids are age related?

But you got a point. My nephew, which is 15, has been way more exposed to electronic media than when I was that same age.

Now we have Wikipedia. Even a dictionary at the touch of a button (or screen)

No, not precisely age-related, just related to what you're exposed to and become used to over the years.

[HoopyFrood]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

It looks like they had to dig to find anything. Studies found that "when the exact same material is presented in both media, there is no measurable difference in student performance." So they kept digging, and found that poor psychology students and gave them economic texts to read, and found that more repetition was requires when using a computer rather than a paper text. An e-reader screen is not a computer display. The article also talks about landmarks on the paper page that help people remember. But when I'm looking at text on a page, it tends to be nothing but text on a page, whether I am reading a paper book or reading from an e-reader. A textbook can be laid out to make the data more digestible, but there's no reason this can't be done with an e-reader.

Amen, exactly what I thought: they really had to come up with something and man, it took some digging and stretching to do it.

Pretty much a load of rubbish topped off with some hype to get some attention.