The widespread use of digital resources, the Internet and the development of technology have brought several significant changes in reading practices, preferences and use among information consumers. Readers of the 21st century have many options for reading thanks to the rapid growth of electronic-based reading materials, instead of printed ones, such as online newspapers, electronic books, digital encyclopedias, and online academic journals, as well as the expansion of e-book readers. All of these have contributed to changing readers’ reading strategies, reading preferences, and attitudes toward the act of reading. In the field of academia, for instance, there has been a tremendous shift from paper-based reading to screen-based reading. Given the fact that digital devices have become pervasive, and that reading has recently become a digital activity, this article proposes the need to investigate the impact of print vs. digital reading materials on Moroccan undergraduate students’ reading behaviors, preferences and use.

The introduction of digital technologies and the emergence of electronic reading devices have expanded the concept of literacy and shaped how readers consume information from texts, as well as how they perceive and interact with digital materials vs. print materials in academic settings. Several years ago, reading was merely a characteristic of print. However, with today's advances in technology, the vast majority of people are reading blogs, journals, newspapers, and other materials on digital screens. This study reports the findings of a survey on the effects of digital technologies on learning behavior and reading motivation among Moroccan EFL university students. Results showed that the majority of students reported using digital materials for studying, research, and recreational purposes. The majority of students also reported using desktop/laptop computers or smartphones to access digital materials and claimed that they frequently consult PDF documents and Google books for coursework materials. Additional findings suggest that print reading is favored when the reading task includes lengthy texts and demands more learning engagement activities such as highlighting and notetaking; and that digital reading is preferred when the reading task demands less effortful engagement activities, and includes short texts and accessible materials via the Internet at a preferential cost. Students reported that their motivation to read online is driven by the need to keep up with recent information as well as the need to use usability features embedded with e-texts such as the ‘Find' function and built-in annotation tools. A great number of students rated their overall online reading experience as satisfactory or enjoyable. In contrast, students reported that eyestrain, discomfort with online reading, as well as the credibility and quality of texts encountered online are major challenges and barriers to digital reading. Results revealed that students' satisfaction with online reading is positively correlated with the frequency of using digital texts. Additional implications and directions for future research are considered.

Technology use in Moroccan higher education classrooms is growing at an exponential rate. However, current knowledge about the pedagogical effectiveness of Information Communication Technology (ICT) usage for reading and self-efficacy beliefs of Moroccan EFL readers is inconclusive. The main purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of reading texts on paper versus on-screen on reading comprehension and judgment of performance, while controlling for relevant individual difference variables. In a between-subjects design, three groups of first-year university students (N = 83) read an expository text on a sheet of paper versus on a laptop. Before reading, topic knowledge was assessed. After reading, participants were asked to answer three open-ended questions (main idea, key points, and other relevant ideas) and one closed-ended question (true-false). Next, based on the medium used for reading, participants were asked to rate how confident they were that the answers they provided were correct. Results of the t-test showed that reading medium did not affect overall reading comprehension, but slight differences between groups emerged. Calculated means indicated that participants who read on paper scored somewhat better on the main idea and other-relevant ideas questions; whereas, participants who read on-screen scored a little bit better on the key points and true-false questions. Moreover, results suggested no influence of the reading medium on students’ post-task judgments, indicating that participants who read on-screen were about as accurate in judging their comprehension performance as those who read on paper. These results suggest that reading short factual texts on the screen has no detrimental effects on the cognitive and metacognitive abilities of EFL readers.