The purpose of this thesis is   to investigate pupils’ experience of the media – reading with a tablet, an   iPad, and a traditional book, as the reading experience may be influenced by   the experience of medium. The research questions concern didactics and possible   differences between the media and what kind of possible pedagogical   consequences that may have.  

The background focuses on   reading, language, and the medium. The starting point begins with a historical   perspective, which naturally leads to the present time where the perspectives   of gender and pedagogy are actualized.

The investigation is based on a   survey and interviews related to three focus groups from two schools. The   pupils’ that are included in this research are studying at secondary school,   as statistics regarding reading indicates that reading decreases for this age   group. This occurs in both terms of time spent reading and the actual reading   abilities. The investigation concentrates on the research questions concerning   experience of medium and reading experience related mainly to school and   teaching.

The results indicate that a   difference in experience between tablets and book exist. The pupils’ often   prefer the traditional book rather than the tablets despite the fact that the   majority of the pupils’ observed several advantages of especially the iPad.   The experience of medium may be a result of habit.

General conclusions are problematic to state since the focus groups are not sufficient in terms of numbers. Moreover the investigation indicates that boys seem to find the tablet more appealing than girls in general. The discussion is divided in two parts: discussion of the result and a more general discussion.