| Online texts present unique challenges to readers, requiring them to interact with texts in ways that differ from their interactions with static, print texts (Kress, 2003; 2010; McKenna, 2003; Reinking, 1998). Due to the multimodal, multilayered, and nonlinear nature of online texts, readers may also employ strategies when they read online, multimodal texts that are different from and extend beyond those used when reading offline (Coiro & Dobler, 2007; Coiro, 2011; Duke, Schmar-Dobler, & Zhang, 2006; Rowsell & Burke, 2009; Zhang & Duke, 2008). The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the reading behavior of fourteen skilled eighth-grade readers as they read an online, multimodal text. Using a think-aloud verbal protocol, participants described their reading behavior, modal engagement, and the comprehension strategies they used as they read an online, multimodal narrative text. Screen shots of students' cursor movements were captured using Camtasia software and synchronous verbal think-alouds were recorded. In addition, participants completed post-reading oral retellings and participated in semi-structured interviews. Ten participants participated in retrospective focus groups designed to confirm preliminary findings. Findings from this study revealed that participants used a complex, strategic, and recursive process of model interpretation and synthesis to construct reading paths within and make meaning of an online, multimodal narrative. |
