Parents Prefer Print, But Kids Like E-Titles

Parents would rather read printed books to their children and believe their kids like the print option as well, according to a new study by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Perhaps not surprisingly, the center also released information suggesting kids actually like e-books better.

The two studies, which are scheduled for publication at the end of the summer, found that reading comprehension and engagement for the children between print and electronic formats were about the same, but children tended to be more distracted by interactivity features in the electronic titles.

“Just to get kids engaged with books, enhanced e-books have their place,” Cynthia Chiong, lead researcher on the study, said to Digital Book World. “If they want their children to work on reading skills or vocabulary, they may want to choose an e-book or enhanced e-book that is more literary focused.”

Earlier studies have suggested parents are concerned about how much time their children spend in front of an electronic device, whether it’s a computer, e-reader, or tablet. Parents should focus on the text and story when reading to children, according to Chiong.

“It could be more effective for parents to say, ‘Hey, let’s read through the store first and then let’s read through it again,’ to experience all of the interactive levels,” she said.

Research Shows More Students Are Reading

There’s been a lot of noise in the press about people reading less, how the book is dead, and that’s leading to the decline of civilization in general. But Justin Marquis, professor of educational technology at Indiana University, reported in a recent blog post for Online Universities that the tide just might be turning.

Marquis points to research done in 2007 by the National Endowment for the Arts that showed reading was on the decline. It suggested college freshmen were not reading for pleasure and that online reading wasn’t helping.

Fast-forward five years and that just might be changing. The Pew Internet & American Life Project’s release of findings in April indicating young people are now actually reading more, and e-readers are part of the reason. The report implies availability of e-reading devices coupled with decreasing e-book prices is having a positive effect on student reading habits.

Marquis isn’t claiming the fight is far from over. In fact, while pointing out the many benefits of higher levels of reading among young people, he also documented that the number of Americans over the age of 18 who had read no books at all in the 12 months before the survey.