Comparative EEG analysis of learning effectiveness using paper books, e-books, and audio books

Abstract

In this work the peculiarities of reading comprehension from electronic, audio devices and hard copies were studied through comparative analysis of the learning accuracy and electrical activity of the brain when reading or listening to the text. Eighty students took part in the research. They were offered 2 passages of text from fiction and popular-scientific literature for reading, presented in a form of an e-book, MP3-format and in a printed copy. The level of comprehension and assimilation of the read material was checked by testing based on the content of the text immediately after reading and in 2 weeks. The comparative EEG analysis did not reveal significant differences in the spectral power of the studied ranges when reading a paper book and e-book. Differences were found when listening to audiobooks comparatively to reading. In general, the effectiveness of text learning does not depend on the way of its presentation, however, sex and individual traits of a person, such as preferred learning style and extraversion level, are more important.

Keywords

• reading, learning, paper books, electronic books, EEG, sex differences, extraversion