ABSTRACT

Overall, the transition of reading from page to screen has been the subject of much theoretical and empirical scrutiny, engaging scholars and scientists from a number of research paradigms. Frequently studied topics include navigation and cognitive load in hypertext reading (see DeStefano and LeFevre 2007 for an overview); implications of multimodality (i.e. the combination and juxtaposition of dierent semiotic modalities – e.g. written text, images, animation, sound) for literacy practices in educational contexts ( Jewitt 2006; Jewitt and Kress 2003; Kress 2010; Page 2010); and applying cognitive theory of multimedia to aspects of reading and learning

(Mayer 2005, 2009). However, there is less research addressing the implications of the digitization of linear, ‘monomodal’ (i.e. written) text and whether, how, and to what extent it may make a dierence if such texts are read on paper or on various kinds of screens. For instance, if we read Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom on an e-reader such as a Kindle, is our experience any dierent than if we had read the novel in a print pocketbook? Do we remember and understand the content of an essay, or a science article, dierently when we read them in a print textbook compared to on a touchscreen tablet, an e-ink e-reader, or a laptop?