Reading Online

Reading online is different…

…from reading printed text.

…depending on devices and interfaces.

…when you are reading for pleasure compared to when you are reading for academic study.

Good News! You can set yourself up for success!

There are strategies for reading online successfully!

Questions to ask before you start reading online…

What is my reading purpose?

How is my content formatted?

What tends to distract me when I am reading, and what is my plan to reduce or avoid those distractions?

How can arrange my digital environment for comfort and focus?

How am I going to take notes and keep track of my learning?

What resources are available to help me?

What is my reading Purpose?

What do I want to accomplish with the reading I am about to do?

Am I confident that I have the best content for my purpose?

How is my Content formatted?

What kind of content will I be reading? Scholarly journals? Websites?

Will there by hyperlinks?

What device will I be reading with?

What Distracts me online? What is my plan to reduce or avoid those distractions?

What is distracting to me when I read online?

How likely am I to encounter distractions when reading this content?

What sorts of options do I have to minimize distractions before and during my reading?

Example

There are several ways to remove advertisements and other extra stuff from webpages, including special apps & programs.

Example: If you are reading an alternet.org article in Chrome, you can use the “print” view to see a version of the content that has fewer ads.

How can arrange my digital environment for comfort and focus?

Adjust my device for comfort (glare, font type & size, backlighting, etc.).

Arrange things to improve my focus (advertisements, hypertext strategies, graphics, sounds, social media & the web, etc.).

Think about and come up with a plan for how you are going to manage your environment ahead of time!

How am I going to take notes & while I read online?

On paper? Lots of research shows that we retain info from

notes that we write with pen or pencil to paper better than notes that we create digitally.

Digitally? There are many benefits to taking notes online,

though-- speed, sharability, etc. Apps Programs on devices Split screen

Splitting the screen

On a PC (Windows 2007 or newer) we can open an article or webpage online and a word processing page, then “split” the screen to read on one side and copy/paste or make notes on the other.

Try it!

Open webpage you want to read, then, at top of window use left mouse to click and drag window to one side of your screen until window “snaps” into place.

Open blank Word document, then, at top of window, use left mouse to click and drag window to other side of the screen, until the window “snaps” into place.

You should see both windows, side by side. They are stable and you can click back and forth between them to scroll and make notations.

BTC Library Resources to help you with online reading…

Staff & Services Search & research experts Internet access Databases eBooks Technology support for students

The Space Quiet study areas Comfortable seating Study tables Study rooms with big screen computers

Equipment Computer lab iPads Laptops Chargers Ergonomic keyboards

Questions?Survey!Thank you!

Questions?

Please consider taking the optional survey on Reading Online on the Canvas login page: http://btc.instructure.com

Thank you!