The capacity to display short lines of text with fewer words makes electronic reading devices ideal for dyslexics, new research has found.
A US study observed 100 students’ reading habits from both the traditional print and modern electronic mediums.
They found that those who struggled with sight-word reading were able to read faster when using the e-readers. Improved results were also noted in those students with limited visual attention spans – they displayed better comprehension when using the electronic devices.
The results, published this week in the journal Plos One, showed that reading fewer words per line enabled students to focus more on each word.
Dr Matthew Schneps, the study’s lead researcher, believes the findings could be applied on paper and the blackboard to achieve similar results for students with learning difficulties.
“If people are struggling to read they may want to try to simply blow the text up in their small computer-like device to see if having fewer words helps,” Schenps told reporters.
An increasing popularity in e-readers and e-book formats means there are a range of personalisation options available for readers. Large range of fonts, font size, line spacing and colour options are just a handful of the customised options now available.
Some e-readers also provide the added benefit of a built-in dictionary and thesaurus and text-to-speech software that can ensure a less challenging reading experience for those students who struggle with reading and comprehension.
Do you use an e-reader? Does it provide a better quality reading experience than the traditional print-on-paper?
