Tablet Touch & Student Learning

This week I had the opportunity to present a research article about the impact that the role of touch has on students' understanding of digital texts (Simpson, Walsh, & Rowsell, 2013).  The researchers in the article wanted to find a connection between the impact of touch on students' use of tablets for literacy tasks.  Several pairs students throughout different countries were examined and videotaped using iPads during a literacy task.  The researchers later examined these videotapes, as well as any gestures and talk that was made throughout the literacy task, to see if there was a connection between the physical act of touch the students made, and their metatextual awareness of the text.  In the end, the researchers concluded that there was not a strong understanding of the impact that touch has on the reading process of students, or where touch sits in explanations of socially meaningful actions.  The data needs to be interrogated further, by asking students to review and explain recordings of their interactions, which will allow researchers to track the students' cognitive development through the use of iPads. 

Throughout my presentation my classmates brought up some interesting points and we had a lively discussion about the article.  One of my peers discussed how the researchers did not have any comparison between the students who used the iPads and students who did not use iPads to complete the literacy task.  This may have better helped the researchers determine whether or not there is a connection between students touch and their understanding of texts.  I also brought up the question to my classmates, "Do you think there is a need to examine the role touch plays on students' reading interactions?"  For the most part I believe my peers agree with me that there is not a real need to examine the role touch plays on students' understanding of digital texts.  It was an interesting study, something that had never been done before, and definitely something that could be improved upon in the future.  However, as an educator who needs to use and spend his or her time wisely, I think there is not necessarily a need to examine how touch connects to students' understanding of digital texts. 

If you would like to check out my Prezi presentation of the article, please follow the link below. 
Presentation

Reference
Simpson, A., Walsh, M., & Rowsell, J. (2013). The digital reading path: Researching modes and multidirectionality with iPads. Literacy, 47(3), 123-130. doi:10.1111/lit.12009