As more and more of reading is moving to the digital realm, the Centre for Teaching and Learning has established a Reading and Writing Innovation Lab to help us keep track of the impact of the digital transformation on reading and writing.
The purpose of the lab is to:
collect and test software and hardware and its various affordances for digital reading and writing
enable the academic community to make better decisions about best technologies
establish a platform for further research of digital scholarship
Ultimately, we hope that as a result, more students and academics will be able to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to develop the same level of fluency with digital reading and writing as they are used to with paper.
Both 13in and 10in versions are included for testing of the impact of the screen size on reading certain types of texts – such as non-reflowable PDFs with small font and multiple columns.
Kindle Fire
This tablet from Amazon is included to both offer an Android alternative and to be able to test Amazon services.
Remarkable 2
This e-ink reader is very popular for its pen like experience but is also known for relatively little flexibility when working with large PDFs.
Onyx Boox Reader 13
The large screen factor and the support for Android apps of this e-ink reader were behind the inclusion decision.
Kobo Elipsa
The Kobo is included primarily because it supports public libraries and digital rights management.
C Pen Reader
A scanning pen will be included to demonstrate possibilities of converting printed text into audio or digital highlights.
Styluses and digital pens
Pen input is an important modality for interacting with digital text for many users. Users also have very idiosyncratic preferences. A variety of active and passive styluses will be included.
Wacom Tablet
Even desktop computers benefit from pen input, the entry level Wacom tablet is a good example of this modality.
Surface Studio
The Microsoft Surface Studio will serve for demonstrating both Windows-based touch interfaces as well as Windows based software.
MacBook Air
It is important to include MacOS in consideration given the wide range of popular writing and notetaking apps that are available primarily or exclusively on the Mac.
Software
The list of software selected for the lab is quite long and evolving. It includes both free, paid and subscription apps from multiple categories. Selected categories apps to highlight include:
PDF and eBook Readers
For a rich and meaningful interaction with text, a text reader that takes advantage of the digital affordances while taking into account the reader’s physical needs is important. Some examples of such apps are:
Margin Note 3
LiquidText
Text to Speech tools
Engaging other modalities is a key advantage of digital text. This functionality can be built in or a key feature of a dedicated reader app. Some examples of tools:
VoiceDream Reader on iOS
@Voice Aloud on Android
Speak Screen feature built into iOS
Read Aloud feature built into Microsoft Office and Edge browser
Text accessibility tools
There are a wide variety of tools that help modify text for the reader’s needs. These can be dedicated or built into other tools.
Microsoft Immersive Reader built into the Edge Browser and Office applications
Instapaper or Pocket are dedicated apps for long form reading of web text
TextHelp and Claro Software offer several tools aimed at people with disabilities
Adobe Reader mobile apps now offer advanced Reflow capabilities
Note taking apps
Taking notes is an essential part of reading. The hardware devices will have a number of note-taking apps installed to test different needs and modalities. Examples will include:
Notability or GoodNotes to demonstrate the potential for pen input
OneNote or Evernote to showcase traditional apps
Notion or Remote as an example of interlinked notes
Bear or Ulysses for a combination of writing and note-taking
Mind Mapping tools
Mind mapping and concept mapping tools proliferate. It is important for users to be able to make informed decisions about them. They will include:
XMind as an example of a free desktop app
Mindomo as an example of a web-based mind mapping tool
WriteMapper as an example of a special purpose mind mapping tool
MindView as an example of a traditional mind mapping tool
CMap Tools as an example of a concept mapping tool
Writing assistants
Writing assistants of all kinds have become increasingly popular. These range from grammar and style checking tools (such as Grammarly or Sapling), to text prediction (such as Lightkey). There is also an increasing number of tools powered by machine learning models that generate substantial portions of text from basic prompts (for example Rytr or Linguix).
The lab will give users a chance to try different tools for their needs rather than simply relying on advertising.
