Studying Online;Succeeding through Distance Learning at University

52 Studying online 
performance when reading on paper than they are when reading 
online (Clinton, 2019). Te study also found that reading perfor-
mance sufers when we read online. So, if you have scheduled your 
time for online reading based upon your experience of reading in 
print, you are not likely to get the same beneft from the material. 
Essentially, you need more time to read online materials than the 
comparable items in print. 
Combine the additional time needed to read online, together 
with the tiring efect of reading digital documents, and it is clear 
you need a completely diferent approach to planning your read-
ing activities. If we consider the typical two-hour reading of a 
printed book chapter, ideally, you need to think about doubling 
that for dealing with the same material in digital form. Plus, giv-
en the ease with which you will become tired and lack concen-
tration, it means that the overall time taken needs to be broken 
down into much shorter reading sessions. Tis will help prevent 
tiredness and improve concentration. Ideally, you should read 
online for no more than 15–20 minutes at a time and take a rest 
between each of those sessions for at least fve to ten minutes. 
Several studies have shown that taking a break between cognitive 
activities can improve recall and comprehension. Indeed, in one 
research study undertaken at the University of Edinburgh, neu-
roscientists discovered that if people took a ten-minute break 
after reading, they were better able to remember what they had 
read a week later compared with people who didn’t take a break 
(Dewar et al., 2012). Importantly, it was the kind of break that 
was taken that was important. It needed to be a restful break 
where you just do nothing. It looks like these breaks are essen-
tial to let your subconscious process what you have just been 
reading.