Is paper superior to screen for learning, writing and comprehension? The International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning recently examined this question in a study completed at the Children’s Digital Media Center@LA. In a series of two studies, they asked a several questions:
1. First, what do students say they prefer — paper or computer?
2. Second, do they perform better in terms of reading comprehension on paper versus screen?
3. And three, would reading articles in either medium improve the quality and efficiency for a task to write an essay which required critical thinking?
Funnily enough, millenials overwhelmingly told us they prefer paper. 60 out of 66 students preferred paper to computer when studying. They thought that this generation of students may have adapted to this new technology, but nearly everyone expressed a preference for paper, usually telling us they felt they performed better when reading on paper rather than a screen.