Traditionellt och digitalt. En forskningsöversikt om datorers påverkan på läsning och skrivande i skolan

Abstract

During the past decade, one-to-one computing (i.e. schools providing each student with an electronic device) has become frequent in Swedish classrooms. This means that the traditional reading and writing on paper, has been partly replaced by reading and writing on a computer. Previous research suggests that this might influence the students’ reading comprehension and writing ability. The purpose of the current study is to investigate and synthesise research about computers’ influence on reading and writing in a school context. The aim is to provide an overview of the area and its main findings. The material consists of thirty nine international studies, which were published between 2012 and 2016. In order to describe the field of research, the studies have been categorised in different categories with regard to object of study, participants and findings. The results are presented in the form of tables with textual commentaries and in written text. The investigation shows that most of the existing research focuses on reading rather than writing. To a large extent, the studies investigate traditional and digital reading comprehension as well as traditional and digital writing ability. Most studies observe compulsory school students or university students, while upper secondary school students have been relatively overlooked. The Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) constitutes an important basis for much of the research in this field. This is especially prominent for research about how gender and socioeconomic factors as well as engagement in online activities influences students’ (digital) literacy. A tendency to be drawn from the studies is that reading comprehension seems to be better on paper than on screen, while the text quality appears to improve when students write on a computer. In this overview, the conclusions from previous research are accounted for without searching to explain underlying causes. ...