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Easy
Reader
AN OLD TECHNOLOGY MAY BE
THE ANSWER TO CONTENT DELIVERY WOES.
By Ariana Donalds
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We've been watching intently as tech gadgets
get smaller and smaller. As these mobile devices have shrunk,
so have interfaces. It is becoming increasingly difficult to
read emails on cell phones and surf the Net on the tiny
screens of handheld PCs.
Fortunately, one firm offers
a solution: Human Factors International, a software usability
consulting and training company, is calling attention to an
old technology called RSVP (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation)
for use in new tech devices. With RSVP, single words flash on
a screen in succession at a speed specified by the user to
facilitate quick reading and comprehension. For devices with
small interfaces in which space and attention span are
limited, this technology permits a user-friendly and effective
mode of content delivery.
To demonstrate the use of
RSVP on the Internet, Human Factors developed FlashReader, an
application with a stereo-like interface that allows users to
read content one word at a time. Operating the application is
easy: simply choose one of nine speeds (100 to 900 words per
minute) and click "play." If you need to look away, click
"pause," and if you need to start over, click "rewind." It's a
rudimentary interface and application of the technology, but
Douglas Walker, manager of marketing communications for Human
Factors, says, "FlashReader is intended simply to illustrate a
point—how we can improve reading speeds online."
RSVP
increases users' reading speeds in almost no time. Human
Factors founder and CEO Eric Schaffer, Ph.D., CPE, explains,
"Normal reading speed is 250 to 300 words per minute. With no
practice, people will read at 400 words per minute using RSVP.
With some practice, it is easy to read 600 to 800 words per
minute." While practicing to read devices that are supposed to
simplify life may seem counterintuitive, testing by Human
Factors shows that it doesn't take long for readers to master
the reading method.
In an experiment that demonstrated
how quickly RSVP could improve reading speeds, participants in
Human Factors' Annual User Interface Update seminar in 1999
were asked to read a document on paper, which they did at an
average rate of 342 wpm. When the document was delivered via
RSVP, the average reading rate for the class more than tripled
to 1212 wpm. The class was tested for comprehension: Among the
readers with a score of 75 percent or higher, three
participants had achieved a whopping speed of 1600 wpm, and
several more clocked in at 1300 wpm.
Still, there are
a few drawbacks to RSVP. Because the eye picks up
approximately eight characters at a time in normal reading,
RSVP begins to break down with longer words; but Schaffer says
the effect is minor on nine- to ten-character words. Also,
Schaffer admits, "RSVP is not very pleasant for long-term
reading tasks. It feels a bit like being dragged down a gravel
road." Thankfully, the appeal of RSVP for the interactive
community lies largely in its application for short-term
reading tasks: Most wireless Web surfers on the go are not
looking to read War & Peace. They're probably
reading email or searching for a weather forecast, baseball
score, or stock price.
Another concern consumers may
have is the inability to skim text; with RSVP, you have to
read everything one word at a time. But, Schaffer explains,
"Normal reading is in fact one word at a time. The difference
is that with normal reading, the user must move his or her eye
to read the page. The advantage of RSVP is that reading a
single word at a time removes the need for time wasted in
visual saccade, or eye movements from one word to the next.
The computer does the work; the eye just absorbs the input."
Besides, reading speeds increase so greatly with RSVP (up to
2000 wpm) that skimming seems unnecessary and perhaps even
excessive.
RSVP is an admittedly simple concept. And
it has been proved to increase reading speeds while
maintaining acceptable comprehension levels. RSVP has been
around since the mid-'60s, and has been used to help teach
children with learning disabilities. And Human Factors is not
the only backer of the technology: The Xerox Palo Alto
Research Center recently developed an exhibition called
Experiments in the Future of Reading (XFR), which explored new
modes of delivering dynamic text in the information age in a
user-friendly manner. XFR includes Speeder Reader, which
employs RSVP through a car-racing video-game metaphor.
Currently, it seems that researchers are more
interested in RSVP than handheld makers, who haven't even
offered the technology as a plug-in for email devices.
Schaffer says, "The people who are really aware of RSVP are
psychologists specializing in vision; the people developing
handhelds are not really aware of RSVP."
Handheld
makers, meet RSVP.
URLs:
http://www.humanfactors.com/
http://www.flashreader.com/
While space-saving mobile devices
make it easier for us to stay connected, their small screens
make it almost impossible to read text-based messages and
browse Web content. We strain our eyes and our patience. How
can these devices be made more user-friendly? RSVP may be the
answer. By presenting one word at a time in rapid succession,
RSVP allows readers to absorb words quickly with little
effort.
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