Digital Reading Theory and its Relationship to Academic Reading Practices

Abstract

As students and scholars increase their use of digital texts, digital reading theorists consider how electronic text affects reading practices, learning, and scholarship. This essay examines the development of digital reading theory and its relationship to academic reading practice. Hypertext theory and the phenomenology of reading are evaluated as methods of understanding the digital reading process and as starting points for the development of new online reading tools. Empirical studies of academic reading and conceptions of appropriate reading tools are considered alongside theoretical developments to determine the impact of digital reading on scholarly practices.