The added challenge of eBook reading: Exploring young children’s page turning behaviors

• In Event: 2-053 - Connecting Development to Mobile Preschool App Design and Use

Integrative Statement

Electronic books (e-Books) with audio narration are often touted as enabling pre-literate children to read independently. Indeed, this is the most common way children utilized e-Books in the U.S. (Vaala & Takeuchi, 2012). However, young children may have trouble in navigating eBooks as their concept of print and fine-motor skills are still developing. Compared to print-books, eBooks lack the book-like tangibility and thus may pose additional challenge to book navigation. This experiment examined the impact of reading format on children’s page turning behaviors.

One-hundred and seventy-seven children aged 3-5 were assigned to be read either a print book by an adult (n = 86) or an eBook with audio narration (n = 91). In both conditions, children were instructed to turn pages when the narration finished. The videotaped reading sessions were coded for page-turning timing, including disruptive (i.e., turning before narration ends) and delayed turning (i.e., being inattentive for over one-minute after the narration ends), and page-turning motion (i.e. difficulty in turning to the next page).

Kruskal–Wallis test suggested that, compared to the print-book group, i) children reading an eBook more frequently turned page both disruptively (χ2(1) = 8.28, p < 0.01) and with delay (χ2(1) = 11.31, p < 0.001); and ii) children reading an eBook showed more instances of incorrect motion (χ2(1) = 27.95, p < 0.001) [see Table 1].

Subsequent analyses were conducted to test whether the negative effects of eBooks on page-turning timing and motion depended on children’s age and tablet usage. We found that eBooks interfered younger children’s decision on page-turning timing more so than older ones (F = 7.01, p < 0.01 for disruptive page-turning; F = 3.20, p < 0.1 for delayed page turning). In addition, children lacking prior technology experiences had more difficulty in using the correct motion if reading an eBook, compared to their more experienced peers (F = 3.77, p < 0.05)[see Figure 1].

We also investigated the effects of age and prior tablet/print reading experiences on page-turning behaviors within each group. Overall, different patterns of age and prior experience effects were found between children reading eBooks versus print-books. In the eBook group, compared to older children, younger children had more instances of disruptive (χ2(2) = 11.82, p < 0.01) and delayed turning behaviors (χ2(2) = 23.01, p < 0.001). Lack of tablet experiences increased the instances of incorrect motion (χ2(3) = 10.80, p < 0.01). By contrast, in the print-book group, age and prior print exposure did not affect children’s page-turning behaviors.

The study suggests that screen-based reading imposes additional cost on children’s navigation of the book. The learning curve to navigate an eBook appears to be steeper than that for print-books. As children use an eBook, page-turning timing appears to be a developmental issue while the turning motion is related to experiences in specific devices. Future eBook design may want to provide scaffolding for young users and those lacking familiarity with technologies.

Authors

• Ying Xu, University of California, Irvine
  Presenting Author

• Joanna C. Yau, University of California, Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Stephanie Reich, University of California, Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author