As technology continues to advance, schools nationwide are quickly abandoning the tried-and-true paper system in favor of implementing more innovative methods of learning. Textbooks and binders of loose-leaf paper are being traded for iPads and computers, pens for styluses and blue books for online testing.
Innovation is often associated with advancing the status quo, but do screens help children learn better? Studies show that paper-based learning actually helps students better comprehend and retain what they are reading, while online textbooks and digital note-taking may, in fact, be less conducive to learning.
A groundbreaking 2023 study out of Columbia University’s Teacher’s College shows that there is a clear advantage to reading printed text over a pixelated screen. With the latter, “shallow reading was observed” in students. It is becoming increasingly clear that pixelation and blue light negatively impact a student’s ability to internalize what they are reading.
This is backed up by a 2020 study which found, after observing the reading comprehension of fifth-grade students, that the time it takes to read online versus on paper is comparable, but performance on reading comprehension tests shows a clear disparity between reading print versus a screen.
What spurred the necessity of these studies? Since 2012, reading comprehension skills have dropped about seven points, four of which fell since the pandemic. The lowest scoring students today rank well below the lowest scoring students in 1971, when this data was first recorded.
Aside from impacting reading comprehension, learning on screens inhibits other good habits and poses various issues. Increased screen time has been associated with a decrease in students’ mental health and ability to focus, according to The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. Notetaking is also less effective, especially if students type rather than incorporate the motor skills needed for writing. Not to mention, online learning can undermine parental authority by making the content their children are seeing subject to less oversight and quality control.
Standardized tests are transitioning online, and it will be years before studies can show whether that helps or hinders student performance, though one can reasonably guess that online testing poses issues of its own. It makes academic honesty easier to carry out, students show their work less, and decreased reading comprehension due to pixelation and blue light may impact students’ focus when reading test questions.
School board members are observing these trends and looking to implement solutions to the problem of rapid technological advancement. Of course, public schools cannot feasibly switch back to technology-free learning, especially considering that students will need to be proficient in new technology if they hope to be fully functioning members of society.
But proficiency in subjects like reading and writing should not be the price to pay.
Michele Leber, a member of the Charleston County School Board, believes that it is time “to address the detrimental trends moving to Computer Based Learning.” She argues that technology use in schools can be balanced with paper learning. This is possible if technology serves its own separate purpose, namely helping students develop skills separate from and in addition to the mastery of reading, writing, critical thinking, and others.
As AI and technology continue to advance, we ought to be cautious they don’t supplant tried-and-true methods of learning. It will be up to school board members and other stakeholders to use their discretion when deciding what to allow or limit in the classroom. When making these choices, the studies and articles outlined here are a good place to start.
To comment on this article, please email info@schoolboardleader.com! We welcome your feedback and commentary!