Gone are the days when you used to hesitate to acclimatise with a new technological invention. Technology has come a long way, and it has had significant impact on education too. Nowadays children use computers, laptops and Kindles to enhance their knowledge. Even schools are promoting e-classes so that students can become familiar with the internet world, but this raises a question whether e-books are better than paper-books for children’s learning.
This is a tricky question to answer. Undoubtedly, digital learning has become part and parcel of life. You can’t refrain your child from the digital world because developing computer skills at growing age is crucial, but have you ever thought how it’s affecting your learning capabilities.
According to research, if children read complex and lengthy information digitally, they can comprehend it as well as if they read it on paper. The use digital devices are on the rise so you can’t keep your children from using them, but you should understand that how and when to employ a digital reading device.
According to some professors, if children have to get the main idea, digital devices will work as good as print media. If your children need deep understanding, you should encourage them to use printouts. Prints also carry more of a sense of gravitas than digital. Your children can quickly grasp information. However, it doesn’t mean that you should discourage e-books. Digital books have several advantages.
High-end e-books help your children develop literacy skills as they will learn the use of an online dictionary. They will be able to understand the matter quickly with pictures.
This also helps them interact with you longer if they find difficulty handling a device or understanding information.
E-books can help your children develop story comprehension and expressive language skills. These skills can build their communication skills. However, these books don’t outclass printed books when it comes to developing early literacy skills like letter and word recognition.
The bottom line is e-books should not be discouraged, but their use should be moderate that your children’s early literacy skills are not being affected.