Academic reading: compulsory? on compulsory reading for academic courses - courses of action, alternatives, and goal achievement

Abstract

Reading occupies a central place in human life, and provides foundations for understanding one's world, as well as tools that help one in the world. Reading is identified as a method for acquiring new information, and reading abilities are expected to develop and improve over time. From a young age, children learn to read and write and are encouraged, both at home and in educational settings, to enjoy reading. Encouraging reading from a young age develops reading habits and the child's ability to better understand the surrounding world as an intellectual. In our technological era there is a sense of change that has also affected reading; schoolchildren and academic students prefer to play with technological instruments in their free time rather than read a book. Some see this as a change for the worse, but it also has its benefits. Following the technological change, new learning channels have emerged, both at school and in higher education, such as online learning, electronic books, virtual lessons, and so on. The current study investigated reading among students at the various departments of Ariel University, focusing on the question of whether students read the study material required for their courses and whether they use computers or paper. Despite the overall technological transformation, students in most departments prefer paper and books to use of computers for their studies.