By Mary O’KEEFE

In 1957, actors Spencer Tracy and Kathryn Hepburn starred in “Desk Set,” a film about computer expert and inventor, Tracy, bringing his masterpiece – EMERAC [Electromagnetic Memory and Research Arithmetical Calculator] into the reference library in a large company that is managed by Hepburn. Although there was a love story mixed in, the question the film dealt with was technology vs. the human touch. It didn’t just trash the use of computers in favor of humans but actually asked a question that continues over 60 years later: What is the best way to meld technology into everyday lives?

That discussion continues, especially in this age of “digital natives,” those who were born or raised during the age of digital technology.

A four-year EU [European Union] study that began in 2014 looked at how more than 170,000 people in 30 countries learn. The study is complex and examined various aspects but the general findings were that young digital native learners absorb more information from printed books as opposed to tablets or computers.

In addition to discovering how people learn, the study also explored how to use this information to move forward in various areas, including schools.

“The research brings together a large number [of people],” said Dr. Ann Marcus-Quinn in an interview with CVW.

Marcus-Quinn is a lecturer at the University of Limerick in Ireland and a research participant of the study. She added the purpose of the data is not to “reinvent the wheel but use the same wheel” regarding moving forward with learning programs.

The research found that although young students use technology, like tablets and smartphones, that does not mean they have the skills to interpret those texts. The discovery showed the value of reading from traditional books.

“We found the term is true of ‘falling into the story,’ ‘being engrossed by the story,’ happens with [printed] books,” Marcus-Quinn said.

That same level of concentration did not occur when reading digitally, and information retention was greater with printed books.

This research is nothing new to Maureen Palacios, the owner of Once Upon A Time bookstore in Montrose. She has known the value of tactile books because she has seen it generation after generation.

“I can tell you it is the book, the tactile physical book, that sends pleasure to the brain,” she said.

For over 15 years, Palacios’ store had been in partnership with a local private high school for a summer reading program. Recently the school’s administration decided the students were to read the books via digital – on tablets. But that decision has not stopped many families from coming into her store to buy the printed book on the summer reading list.

“I can’t tell you how many [boys] I heard tell their mothers they wanted to buy the book because they didn’t like reading it on their [tablet],” Palacios said. “There has been a pushback to digital reading.”

Although there have been discussions with Glendale Unified School District and the state of Education Office in the past of the possibility of using digital textbooks, there are no plans to go to textbook technology in the near future.

“We obviously try to keep up with technology research; the state is concerned whatever we adopt is aligned to the new standards,” said Dr. Chris Coulter, director of teaching and learning.

All people interviewed for this article agree, though, that technology does have value.

“Balance is important,” Coulter said of technology and printed material.

Marcus-Quinn’s area of study is digital technology. She said it was important to look at how children learn and to be cautious when introducing digital technology in schools, to make certain there are reasonable expectations and not to create cognitive overload.

“Find what works well for [students],” she said. “For some students I [know] I can’t overload with animation and sounds.” But with other students, introducing more animation may work well.

One of the studies she was responsible for had students reading and listening to a poem by William Butler Yeats. She found a recording with Yeats reading his own poetry. Retention and comprehension was different from reading on a tablet.

“With the early recording from Yeats, the [children] got lost in the poem and were immersed much more than if they were just reading a book,” she said.

Palacios agrees there is a place for technology but it is not always the best choice simply because it is available.

“Technology is great [but] for close work a tactile book is better,” Palacios said.

At its foundation, the study showed that digital learning is not as simple as placing a tablet or computer into the hands of a student.

So even though “Desk Set” was produced over six decades ago, the message is timely. In the film, the human researchers were certain the computer was there to take over their jobs. But in the end sequence, EMERAC was not created to take over but to work with the researchers to help them raise their research skills even higher.

Which is what Marcus-Quinn said is how the information from this study should be used.

She added, it is important to know how and what technology to engage with children, and there is room to use the best of both worlds – digital and printed.

“You need to know your audience,” she said.

  Mary Okeefe