1. Challenges and Strategies Cari Kenner, Nancy Mills, and Victoria Williams Academic Support Department St. Cloud State University February 2012 www.stcloudstate.edu/alc for Improving Comprehension of E-Text

2. Session Overview  Electronic Reading: A Student Perspective  Current Research on Electronic Reading  Addressing Student Concerns  Vision/headache  Preference for print (habit)  Distractions  Note-taking  E-tools and Strategies

3. Survey of Students

10. Pew Research Center: The Digital Revolution and Higher Education (August 2011)  50% of college presidents predict that 10 years from now most of their students will take classes online.  62% of college presidents anticipate that more than half the textbooks used by undergrads will be entirely digital.  41% of college presidents say students are allowed to use laptops or other portable devices during class.  87% of college presidents use a smartphone daily. 83% use a desktop computer and 65% use a laptop. 49% use a tablet, and 42% use an e-reader.

11. Gartner Survey on Digital Reading Preferences (April 2011)  The time people spend reading on a digital screen is now almost equal to the time spent reading printed paper text.  Tablet and iPad users find screen reading easier (52%) than printed text or about the same (42%).  Laptop users find screen reading harder than printed text (42%) and 33% find it about the same.

12. Gartner Survey Conclusions “There is no single paradigm for screen reading, because reading a short piece of text on a mobile phone screen is a different proposition from the reading experience with an e-reader.”

13. Addressing Student Concerns  Vision/headache  Preference for print (habit)  Note-taking

14. Physical Issues: Eyestrain/Headaches  I don't prefer reading online. because it makes my eyes tired, I usually print it then read it.  I prefer reading a printing textbook because I can get more comfortable with my area of where I wish to read and for myself, it get tiring looking at a computer screen for too long.

15. General Tips for Preventing Eye Strain  See an eye doctor.  May need computer eyeware (even with contacts).  Take breaks by looking away every 20 minutes.  Workrave Program Link Link  Reduce glare.  Reduce contrast on screen and with lighting (dimmer).  Blink more often.  Monitor should be 20 inches from eyes.  Improve humidity or use artificial tears. http://ergonomics.about.com/od/eyestrain/tp/eyestrainprev.htm http://www.allaboutvision.com/cvs/irritated.htm http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/eyestrain/DS01084/DSECTION=lifestyle-and-home-remedies

16. Adjusting Your Computer to Reduce Eyestrain  Increase text size on web pages by holding down the Control key and moving the scroll wheel on the mouse, up to increase size, down to decrease.  Zoom in on your documents. Microsoft Office has a "Zoom" feature in the "View" Menu.  Work in full-screen mode. Most programs allow you to work in full-screen mode, allowing your eyes to focus on one task at a time. In Office, go to "View" > "Full Screen" to work in full-screen mode.  Adjust refresh rate of monitor to at least 50 times a second. http://www.ehow.com/how_2179698_prevent-computerrelated-eyestrain.html http://cybernetnews.com/how-to-prevent-eye-strain-and-rsi/

17. Encourage Students to Work with the text  Convert to “clean” text and use reading strategies  Add headings  Highlighting  Add notes  Make maps  Outline

18. Tools to Use Before Reading Readability link (needs Google Chrome) link PrintFriendly link (converts webpages to “clean” pdf) link Assess Difficulty link (tests site and document readability) link Assess Difficulty link link Reasy link (need Mozilla; converts text to smaller lines ) link

19. Note Taking PowerPoint Use this PowerPoint with your class. Or A member of the Academic Learning Center will customize and present it for your classes. Control Checks Highlighting Annotating

20. Tools to Use During and After Reading Evernote Microsoft Word Adobe Psychology Students and Textbooks OneNote

21. Discussion  Issues  Innovations  Resources  Academic Learning Center link link