Why Screens Are Better Than Books For Interactive Learning

Summary: Although books are good for deep reading that requires focusing, recalling, and reflecting upon what you learn, screens are better than books for interactive kinds of learning, such as presenting dynamic content or simulating game-like interfaces.  Thus, screens work well for activities like visualization, navigation, and delivering presentations, demos, or simulations, including educational games.

In Part I of this article, we explored when it’s better to use print media, rather than screen media, in education.  To recap, books are better than screens for deep reading, especially when you need to focus, remember, and reflect upon what you learn.  However, that doesn’t mean screens have no place in learning.  In fact, screens are better than books for what’s known as interactive learning.

Research on Interactive Learning

Interactive learning means not just listening but also interacting with someone or something to learn a new skill or subject.  Often, interactive learning uses technology to engage students.  For example, students can participate in online forums to discuss, deliberate, and pose questions about class material.  Simply put, we can think of interactive learning as learning-by-doing with digital technology.

Interactive learning isn’t really a new idea.  For instance, it has roots in educational philosophers like John Dewey (1938).  However, it has received a fresh look in education, probably for a couple of reasons.

• One reason has to do with research on the effectiveness (or perhaps ineffectiveness) of mere lecturing.  To date, there’s little evidence that just listening to lectures is the most effective learning method (Freeman et al., 2014).  In truth, more effective ways to learn include engaging activities, like group discussions or hands-on projects, in addition to lectures.
• Another reason involves the kinds of engaging activities that digital technologies make possible.  Unlike print media (textbooks, workbooks, notebooks), screen media (laptops, tablet computers, smart devices) afford new forms of social interaction.  For example, these new technologies allow people to easily and efficiently share, collaborate, and distribute knowledge online (Shirky, 2010).

The question is, what kinds of interactive learning can screen media facilitate?  Here, we’ll mention a few salient possibilities.  In particular, screens are better than books for visualization, navigation, and delivering presentations, demos, or simulations.

Visualization

Thanks to computer graphics, screens can help us visualize abstract ideas or images in ways that previously weren’t possible.  For instance, to illustrate scientific concepts from physics, we can watch animations that illuminate this information in striking detail.  The show Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (featuring Neil DeGrass Tyson) was particularly effective at using animations—one of my favorite visuals being the Cosmic Calendar.

Likewise, to study maps, we can look at applications or programs that render territorial, geological, or topographical details in 3D.  Google Maps and Google Earth are particularly valuable for those sorts of tasks, where you can zoom in and out, scroll various directions, and see satellite images, aerial photos, and panoramic views.

Clearly, playing with these types of screen media to visualize abstract ideas or images can be much more instructive than glancing at static pictures in textbooks.

Navigation

Closely related to the idea of visualization is navigation.  Screen media are distinctly superior to print media when it comes to navigating and giving directions.  Personally, one of the best decisions I made was buying a GPS device.  Not only is GPS more accurate than paper maps; it’s safer too (since you don’t have to look down at a paper map and take your eyes off the road).  Plus, GPS comes with extra benefits, such as real-time reports on traffic conditions and route planning.

Presentations, Demos, and Simulations

By using multimedia to integrate slideshows, audio sounds, and video clips, screen media are optimal technologies for delivering presentations.  Whether you’re a student with a science project or a working adult with with a business presentation, delivering information on screens can be more dynamic and engaging then using static display boards.

Beyond presenting information, screens are optimal technologies for giving demos—for example, demos of processes, techniques, products, or services.  The rise of so many online video tutorials is testimony to this fact.  Frequently, when people want to learn something new—like how to use a new software, how to cook a new dish, how to change a tire, etc.—they can find that training by watching instructional videos online.

Moreover, screens are better than books for creating simulations of situations or processes.  Drivers can use driving simulators to learn how to drive, and pilots can use flight simulators to learn how to fly.  Practicing on those types of simulations is far more instructive than merely reading a manual, because the learning process is more active or experiential, not passive.

Educational Video Games (a.k.a. Serious Games)

Interestingly, driving and flight simulators bear a strong resemblance to video games—albeit video games designed to teach new skills and knowledge.  Indeed, they exemplify what are called serious games, or games designed for educational purposes (as opposed to sheer entertainment value).  These video games are educational, because they interact with multiple sense perceptions and simulate perceptual feedback to facilitate learning.  Popular examples include:

• Video games that teach basic concepts in physical science (acceleration, parabolas, gravitational pull, etc.) by simulating sensorimotor movements (like skate boarding video games that require speeding up, slowing down, jumping, falling, steering, etc.).  Students can play these games to better comprehend causal patterns, such as parabolas and Newtonian forces (Dubbels, 2012).
• Video games that teach strategic planning (say, military training) by simulating tactical experiences (such as a range of warfare scenarios).  For instance, America’s Army is a first-person shooter video game designed to train soldiers.
• Video games that train or improve visual acuity, hand-eye coordination, and physical stamina by simulating exercise (running, biking, boxing, etc.), which may be great when the weather keeps you indoors (Peng et al., 2012).  There’s even evidence that some of these video games can be used to treat physical disorders like amblyopia (Levi, 2012).

Screens Are Better Than Books for Interactive Kinds of Learning

To sum up, screens are better than books for certain kinds of interactive learning, including:

• Visualizing abstract ideas or images
• Navigating and giving directions
• Delivering presentations
• Giving demos, such as video tutorials
• Creating simulations and educational video games

 

References

Dewey, John. (1997). Experience and Education. New York: Touchstone. (Original work published 1938)

Dubbels, Brock Randall. (2012). The brain is for action: embodiment, causality, and conceptual learning with video games to improve reading comprehension and scientific problem solving. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy. http://hdl.handle.net/11299/119831

Freeman, Scott, Eddy, Sarah L., McDonough, Miles, Smith, Michelle K., Okoroafor, Nnadozie, Jordt, Hannah, and Wenderoth, Mary Pat. (Jun 2014). Active learning boosts performance in STEM courses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410-8415. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111

Levi, Dennis M. (June 2012). Prentice Award Lecture 2011: Removing the Brakes on Plasticity in the Amblyopic Brain. Optometry and Vision Science, 89(6), 827-838. http://doi.org/10.1097/OPX.0b013e318257a187

Peng,Wei, Crouse, Julia C., and Lin, Jih-Hsuan. (July 2012). Using Active Video Games for Physical Activity Promotion: A Systematic Review of the Current State of Research. Health Education and Behavior, 40(2), 171-192. http://doi.org/10.1177/1090198112444956

Shirky, Clay. (2010). Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. New York: Penguin Press.