Students' perceptions of challenges in online reading and their affective responses: A focus group study.
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| Title: | Students' perceptions of challenges in online reading and their affective responses: A focus group study. |
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| Authors: | Josekutty, Jyothis1 jyothisjosekutty@gmail.com, Ponniah, R. Joseph2 |
| Source: | Research & Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning. 2026, Vol. 21, p1-25. 25p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Affect (Psychology), *Focus groups, *Psychology of students, *Digital learning, *Reading strategies, Information overload, Hyperlinks |
| Abstract: | In the present-day digital landscape, the internet serves as an essential medium for learning and acquiring information. As reliance on internet-based reading increases, it is necessary to address and resolve the difficulties encountered by the readers in this medium. Keeping this objective in mind, this study investigates the challenges faced by students and the affective responses they evoke while reading on the websites for educational purposes. Three focus group discussions were conducted with six participants each to explore the students' perceptions and experiences while reading through websites. Four themes emerged related to the challenges of website reading such as: (i) distractions and interruptions, (ii) information overload, (iii) difficulty in using active reading strategies like highlighting and annotating, and (iv) difficulties while using hyperlinks. The results further show that these challenges evoked various unfavorable affective responses in the readers depending on the challenge they faced. The study concludes that these challenges and the ensuing emotional responses are likely to detract from the seamless reading experience and diminish the enjoyment derived from learning. Understanding such challenges faced by students while reading through websites is important for educators in making necessary interventions to enhance the effectiveness of online reading and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Research & Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning is the property of Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education (APSCE) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 192754614 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.58459/rptel.2026.21036 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 25 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Affect (Psychology) Type: general – SubjectFull: Focus groups Type: general – SubjectFull: Psychology of students Type: general – SubjectFull: Digital learning Type: general – SubjectFull: Reading strategies Type: general – SubjectFull: Information overload Type: general – SubjectFull: Hyperlinks Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Students' perceptions of challenges in online reading and their affective responses: A focus group study. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Josekutty, Jyothis – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Ponniah, R. Joseph IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Text: 2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 17932068 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 21 Titles: – TitleFull: Research & Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning Type: main |
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