Topic: Reading on the Internet

10-second review: Is reading electronic print on the Internet the same as reading print on paper? Do the same Instructional strategies as used with print on paper apply to electronic print on the Internet?

Title: “Assessing the New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension: An Informative Interview with W I O’Byrne, et al. at the University of Connecticut.” Reading Teacher (December 2008/January 2009), 354-357. A publication of the International Reading Association.

Summary/Quote: “As texts have shifted from printed pages to electronic screens, researchers have wondered whether current models and conceptualizations of reading and writing apply equally well to a drastically new and interactive electronic medium such as the Internet. We wondered, too, whether the skills, strategies and practices that have been validated and used successfully with print texts could be tailored for use in online environments or whether the nature of the new medium requires a dramatic reconceptualization of literate activities and literate practices, which characterize effective reading comprehension.” p. 354.

Comment: I’m keeping my mind open on this one. One thing I have noted with online reading is that the medium seems to me to be much less flexible than reading printed pages. I can turn pages more rapidly in order to skim and scan than I can move down pages of electronic text online. In some ways, the medium of electronic print seems to control my reading similar to how speakers control the attention of the listeners. I’m keeping my mind open. Maybe it’s all in what I’m used to. RayS.