Reading on a Screen Isn't the Same as Reading on Paper, and Widener Law Commonwealth Professor Amanda Sholtis Is Teaching Law Students the Difference
Widener University Commonwealth Law School Professor Amanda Sholtis recently presented at the 2026 Capital Area Legal Writing Conference, hosted by the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Her presentation, "Medium Matters in Law Practice: Teaching Critical e-Reading," tackled something the legal profession is only beginning to reckon with: the fact that reading on a screen and reading on paper are genuinely different cognitive experiences, and that law students need to get good at both. As the profession moves steadily toward paperless practice, and with the redesigned NextGen bar exam debuting in many states this July, that skill gap matters more than ever.
Sholtis didn't just make the case for why this matters. She came with something professors could actually use. She shared a hands-on classroom exercise designed to help students sharpen their digital reading in real time, not just in theory.
At Commonwealth Law, Sholtis teaches legal methods and analysis and directs the Academic Success Program, where her work centers on giving students the practical tools they need to get through law school and thrive once they leave it.