The impact of interactive levels of electronic children's books on children's reading effect

This research studies shows different impact of interactive levels of electronic children's book (ECB) on reading effect for children with different age and gender. The high interactive function of ECB seem to enrich the reader's sensory experiences, but learning obstacles could hide behind the attractive functions. The debates of influence from interactivity in ECB still remain. This research was achieved through a 2×2×3 three-factorial individual experiment and a questionnaire. In total, there were 159 third graders and 152 fifth graders recruited from Keelong City for this research. The stimuli were images modified from an online electronic book to control three interactive levels, which were "no interactivity", "low in interactivity", and "high interactive" levels. The participants answered a series of questions after watching and/or playing with one of the stimuli. The results suggest: 1. There was significant interaction between the interactive level and age which influences reading effect. The low interactive level significantly increased the nine-year-olds' total reading effect, but interactive levels did not influence the fifth grader's performance at all. 2. For the performance of image recall, the third grader's reading effect was significantly increased by low interactivity; the high interactivity, on the other hand, did not help increase the reading effect. 3. The girls had significantly better performance for the total reading effect. 4. The children who have computers at home and more Internet experience performed better in the total reading effect than those who have no access to such equipments. On the other hand, past experience of reading ECB was not influential. 5. The percentages of children who have reading experience of ECB differ greatly from city to city.