Reading on iPads: A distraction in the classroom?

There's an interesting study out of Australia that analyzed the affects of reading on iPads on student reading comprehension. I was particularly interested in this study for two reasons: first, because this is after all a blog about tablets, and second, because the study was conducted with sixth-graders and I once was a sixth-grade reading teacher.  Therefore, I definitely could empathize with the teachers and students in the study who were struggling to implement the use of iPads in the classroom.

The basic set-up of the study was comprised of two sets of students--one control group reading traditional textbooks, and another experimental group reading epubs on iPads. The experiment was conducted soon after the release of the first iPad, so one should take that fact into consideration of the validity of the study, as Apple has improved upon the original iPad and the overall textbook epub reading experience since then. The control group and experimental group were subdivided by students' reading ability, so that each group had a Low, Middle, and High group as well. The students read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain among other readings.

The study ultimately found that further study would be required to make a definitive statement about whether iPads significantly impact student reading. However, the study found that the experimental group (the ipad group) performed worse than the control group (the textbook group) on standardized reading comprehension group. In particular, the Low experimental group performed the poorest of all. The researches proposed that the iPads, while exciting and shiny-new, presented a distraction to students which negatively affected students' reading comprehension.

I would like to see the same experiment conducted using the latest iPads today to see if there is a difference in the result, given the improvements that Apple has made in the two years since the study came out. I think that there might be a slight improvement in the experimental group's test scores because iPads aren't the novel gadgets that they once were. In other words, teachers and students alike have more experience using iPads nowadays, so the teachers and students might not be as distracted and/or intimidated by the technology as they once were. I wouldn't be surprised however--as someone who often gets distracted while reading a book on my tablet--if the textbook group outperformed the iPad group a second time around.

References

Sheppard, D.  (2011). Reading with iPads—the difference makes a difference.  Education Today, 13(1), 12-15.  Retrieved from:http://www.minnisjournals.com.au/articles/ipads%20et%20t3%2011.pdf