ABSTRACT
Reading is a complex process requiring a combination of mental and muscular activities to work together. Reading online is even more complicated, and the technology you use can add to the difficulties. This means that the reading activities you complete can make you tired more easily when you are studying online. To cope with the additional tiring nature of studying online, you need to be organised for reading online. Online readers may need to change the way they read, eliminating factors such as subvocalisation of the text. You also need to take more breaks when reading online than you would do with the same material in print. Scheduling your reading when studying online is even more critical. It is also worthwhile having some background music or other means of eliminating background sounds, such as noise-cancelling headphones. When reading ebooks, it is essential to get to know the software used so that you can enhance the material. It is also worthwhile printing out key extracts of online ebooks to help you read them in a more familiar way. Reading online can also be made more enjoyable by using ebooks or getting “text-to-speech” software that will read out web pages for you. This is often fundamental for students with dyslexia, but it can also benefit all students as it removes the monotony of constantly reading from a screen. Finally, in this chapter, you will discover the need to “curate” your reading materials so that you can find them easily in future, such as when you need to write an assignment or revise for exams.
