Recently, electronic books (e-books) have become prevalent amongst the general population, as well as students, owing to
their advantages over traditional books. In South Africa, a number of schools have integrated tablets into the classroom with
the promise of replacing traditional books. In order to realise the potential of e-books and their associated devices within an
academic context, where reading speed and comprehension are critical for academic performance and personal growth, the
effectiveness of reading from a tablet screen should be evaluated. To achieve this objective, a quasi-experimental within-
subjects design was employed in order to compare the reading speed and comprehension performance of 68 students. The
results of this study indicate the majority of participants read faster on an iPad, which is in contrast to previous studies that
have found reading from tablets to be slower. It was also found that comprehension scores did not differ significantly
between the two media. For students, these results provide evidence that tablets and e-books are suitable tools for reading
and learning, and therefore, can be used for academic work. For educators, e-books can be introduced without concern that
reading performance and comprehension will be hindered.

doi:10.15700/saje.v35n4a1202