Device preview: Touch-user interface books for overcoming reading difficulty

Abstract

Purpose. To provide a rationale for the newly developed paper-to-digital book product, touch-user-interface (TUI) technology for improving reading comprehension for students with disabilities and developmental constraints.

Method. TUI technology, enabling students to touch portions of the pages to actualise corresponding digital files, was theoretically and practically analysed by the author, a content-area expert in (a) reading fluency and comprehension and (b) learning disabilities, for judgment of product utility. Product function was juxtaposed with current reading research depicting learner challenges to fluency and comprehension.

Results. TUI technology provides design solutions in-line with meeting student challenges with reading difficulty, namely that traditional paper book pages with ‘too much’ text block reading comprehension due to low fluency (reading rate is too slow for the brain to make sense of text causing a ‘bottleneck’ effect) inhibiting understanding. It is proposed that with a TUI book, with media-rich paper, less text can be used and informational equivalence achieved with the digital material activated via touch points on paper pages tethered to a computer. The audio, video and graphics meaning-based symbols systems can replace some text.

Conclusions. TUI technology function needs to be evaluated in applied research in classroom settings across exceptionality and development.

Keywords:

• Touch-user interface book
• reading comprehension
• media-rich paper

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Note

1. The author is not affiliated with Somatic Digital, LLC.