The Effects of Computer-Mediated Text on Measures of Reading Comprehension and Reading Behavior

It is indicated that computermediated text can influence reading comprehension and that comprehension was most consistently increased when manipulations of the text were under computer control.

Abstract

THIS STUDY investigated a theoretical connection between computer technology and current understandings of reading comprehension. Current models of reading emphasize that reading comprehension is an active cognitive process requiring the reader to interact with text-based information and to monitor comprehension in a quest for meaning. The options for interacting with text displayed on the printed page are limited by conventional print and the reader's internal strategies. Hypothetically, computer technology might influence these processes by manipulating text in ways not available or feasible on printed pages. To explore this possibility, intermediate-grade good and poor readers read short expository passages in four experimental conditions which varied as to the medium of presentation (the printed page or the computer), the availability of computer-mediated textual manipulations, and whether the computer or the reader controlled these manipulations. A three-way analysis of variance on passage comprehension scores revealed main effects for reading ability and treatment as well as a significant Passage Difficulty x Treatment interaction. Results indicated that computermediated text can influence reading comprehension and that comprehension was most consistently increased when manipulations of the text were under computer control.