I'm grateful for all of the help I've received here on DegreeForum, and I want to give back a little. These are some of the ways that I've found over the years, that work relatively well for reading digital content. I hope this can be of use to some. Thanks for all of the help. 
Ways to Make Reading On a Computer Screen Easier On the Eyes
For most of us, reading course material is done using a computer monitor. Everyone who has had parents or has used a computer knows that a computer monitor is difficult on the eyes, having negative effects on reading, as well as for the health of our vision. This is especially the case, and further amplified, when done for long periods of time. However, since it can be difficult to avoid in many situations, there are still small number of things you can do to make reading on a computer screen easier—and a bit healthier (or at least less unhealthy)—for your eyes:
1. Change the colour temperature of your screen.
Blue light is difficult on the eyes; yellow light is softer (they are opposites on the colour temperature spectrum). Look in your monitor settings to see if you can change the colour temperature—it'll probably be displayed as a number with 'K' at the end (meaning Kelvin). There is also software to do this, such as with f.lux (which I, and many people, highly recommend).
2. Reduce the brightness of your monitor.
This one is the most obvious, but also the most important. Reduce your monitor's brightness as much as you can, until reading starts to be a bit more difficult due to the lack of brightness. Try it out; you'll be surprised by how little brightness you need—and you might actually find it better to read at low brightness levels.
3. Decrease the brightness of your monitor, and increase the brightness in your room/office.
Although decreasing the brightness of your monitor helps, it isn't of much help if your room or office is completely dark. Light from a monitor goes straight into your pupils—this is difficult for the eyes (especially when this happens for long durations of time). However, this is especially increased when the single source of light is that intense and focused beam of coming from your monitor.
Something most don't think about is that the light in your room also has a strong affect, in part since your eyes and pupils adjust to the level of light of your surroundings (rather than adjusting to the small and intense amount of light pointed directly at you). Open the lights, buy a small lamp, experiment with different wattages of light bulbs, as well as choose better types of lightbulbs (see next item).
4. Choose healthier types of light.
Different sources of light have different qualities to them. Although the eye can't see it, fluorescent light, which is the worst, is usually purple or green (those who do indoor photography have probably experienced a blotched half-purple picture because of these dreaded fluorescent lightbulbs). They also have a host of other issues, like flickering (again, not perceptible by the eye) and possibly negative effects on the brain (many people with brain disorders such as seizures, and conditions such as autism, ADHD, Tourette's and so on report increased symptoms due to fluorescent lightbulbs). Health-conscious people as well as stores used to encourage people to choose fluorescent lightbulbs because they lasted longer, and were 'more green' (a marketing fad, probably started by the same companies that sell the product), however, they leach mercury gas when broken, and solid mercury when disposed of—so I have no idea how saying they are 'greener' makes any sense.
The best types of lights are incandescent, and then LED (although incandescent is still better). Experiment with different types (and wattages/intensities) of light and see what works best for you.
5. Decrease the brightness of your monitor even further by increasing contrast and sharpness.
At a certain point, lowering the brightness of your computer screen doesn't give good results, however, you can succeed in lowering it a bit more by increasing the contrast (which is the increasing of the difference—or contrast—of blacks and whites of displayed images), and also increasing the sharpness (if this is a setting that your monitor has).
6. If available, experiment with 'dark mode'.
This is a new feature that is increasingly popular as of late. It inverses the blacks and whites of the image displayed on your monitor, so text is white and the background is black. More and more software developers are adding this feature to their software—usually because of incessant demands from users. If it is available with the pieces of software or browser you are using, give it a try. It might take a bit of time to adjust to it though, since you probably aren't used to reading white text on a black background. Once you do adjust to it, however, it is markedly easier on the eyes.
Even though it might not be a feature of most pieces of software, sometimes you can replicate dark mode by inverting colours—such as on iPads for example. Although it will invert all the colours (dark mode only inverts blacks and whites, and not reds and greens, for example), it doesn't make that much of a difference.
7. Use an e-ink device (might not be for everyone, though).
E-ink devices are devices similar to iPads, but they display image not by LCD, but with actual ink. The ink is displayed by electromagnetic signals either positively or negatively charging the ink particles in different areas of the screen. Being itself ink, its main advantage is obviously that it's soft on the eyes.
You'll want to use an e-ink device that works well with PDF documents (speed, pinch-and-zooming, etc.). There is also the formatting you need to take into consideration, since PDF documents with large borders will result in small text on the e-reader—although there is software to crop PDF documents which mostly remedies the issue. Smaller PDF files might not be worth reading on an e-ink device, but PDF files of 20 to 100 pages or more could be worth it. The managing and transfer of files adds an extra step to the process, but once completed, it can work out well. Also take into consideration that this requires a more tech-savvy approach, which is might not work for everyone. Lastly, PDF files aren't rendered that great on some e-ink devices—Kobo devices are the best ereaders for reading books, but their PDF rendering is 10 years behind (although there are 3rd party add-ons to make it better), and I don't have much experience with Kindles (a Google search would be useful for this).
Again keep in mind this might not work out for everyone. It would work best if you don't mind learning how to crop PDF files, as well how to set up the device and manage files. Also, and again, this isn't a good option for PDF files of only a few pages, but more for PDF files (course PDFs or textbooks) of 100 pages or more.
8. Take breaks.
Not that fun to constantly hear, but true nonetheless. If you take breaks every 1.5 hours or so, it gives time for your eyes to rest (as well as the muscles that help focus your vison). After completing a degree by distance education, coupled with doing this, it can result in a net difference in regards the state of your vision.
9. Study using your computer mainly during the day, and not before bed.
Many night owls won't agree with this suggestion, but if you study mainly during the day, there is less of a need to manage lightbulbs, lamps and so on. As for being in front of a computer screen before going to bed, having experimented with this for over 10 years, it has considerable effects on your sleep. You'd be better off taking an hour or so before bed to enjoy a good and old-fashioned printed book, and then have much better sleep, to then return to your studies the next morning much better rested—with more energy, better functioning memory, better recall of learnt material, etc.
10. Take notes on paper instead of in a text editor (or print them), then study with them away from the computer.
Writing out notes by hand adds a physical component, which apparently helps for the memorization of what you are writing—however, the biggest benefit is studying your notes on paper, which I've found to be a better way to learn and memorize whatever I'm studying (although I only do this for some things).
CONCLUSION
There might be more ways to reduce eye strain from computer monitors, other than those listed above. If you find something that works, definitely use it (and maybe even share it here). However, as students obtaining credit mainly from online education—and with such large amounts of text that we need to read—it is crucial to reduce the amount of strain and harm that could result from such means of reading. There's no point in getting a degree if you arrive at the other end half blind.
Ways to Make Reading On a Computer Screen Easier On the Eyes
For most of us, reading course material is done using a computer monitor. Everyone who has had parents or has used a computer knows that a computer monitor is difficult on the eyes, having negative effects on reading, as well as for the health of our vision. This is especially the case, and further amplified, when done for long periods of time. However, since it can be difficult to avoid in many situations, there are still small number of things you can do to make reading on a computer screen easier—and a bit healthier (or at least less unhealthy)—for your eyes:
1. Change the colour temperature of your screen.
Blue light is difficult on the eyes; yellow light is softer (they are opposites on the colour temperature spectrum). Look in your monitor settings to see if you can change the colour temperature—it'll probably be displayed as a number with 'K' at the end (meaning Kelvin). There is also software to do this, such as with f.lux (which I, and many people, highly recommend).
2. Reduce the brightness of your monitor.
This one is the most obvious, but also the most important. Reduce your monitor's brightness as much as you can, until reading starts to be a bit more difficult due to the lack of brightness. Try it out; you'll be surprised by how little brightness you need—and you might actually find it better to read at low brightness levels.
3. Decrease the brightness of your monitor, and increase the brightness in your room/office.
Although decreasing the brightness of your monitor helps, it isn't of much help if your room or office is completely dark. Light from a monitor goes straight into your pupils—this is difficult for the eyes (especially when this happens for long durations of time). However, this is especially increased when the single source of light is that intense and focused beam of coming from your monitor.
Something most don't think about is that the light in your room also has a strong affect, in part since your eyes and pupils adjust to the level of light of your surroundings (rather than adjusting to the small and intense amount of light pointed directly at you). Open the lights, buy a small lamp, experiment with different wattages of light bulbs, as well as choose better types of lightbulbs (see next item).
4. Choose healthier types of light.
Different sources of light have different qualities to them. Although the eye can't see it, fluorescent light, which is the worst, is usually purple or green (those who do indoor photography have probably experienced a blotched half-purple picture because of these dreaded fluorescent lightbulbs). They also have a host of other issues, like flickering (again, not perceptible by the eye) and possibly negative effects on the brain (many people with brain disorders such as seizures, and conditions such as autism, ADHD, Tourette's and so on report increased symptoms due to fluorescent lightbulbs). Health-conscious people as well as stores used to encourage people to choose fluorescent lightbulbs because they lasted longer, and were 'more green' (a marketing fad, probably started by the same companies that sell the product), however, they leach mercury gas when broken, and solid mercury when disposed of—so I have no idea how saying they are 'greener' makes any sense.
The best types of lights are incandescent, and then LED (although incandescent is still better). Experiment with different types (and wattages/intensities) of light and see what works best for you.
5. Decrease the brightness of your monitor even further by increasing contrast and sharpness.
At a certain point, lowering the brightness of your computer screen doesn't give good results, however, you can succeed in lowering it a bit more by increasing the contrast (which is the increasing of the difference—or contrast—of blacks and whites of displayed images), and also increasing the sharpness (if this is a setting that your monitor has).
6. If available, experiment with 'dark mode'.
This is a new feature that is increasingly popular as of late. It inverses the blacks and whites of the image displayed on your monitor, so text is white and the background is black. More and more software developers are adding this feature to their software—usually because of incessant demands from users. If it is available with the pieces of software or browser you are using, give it a try. It might take a bit of time to adjust to it though, since you probably aren't used to reading white text on a black background. Once you do adjust to it, however, it is markedly easier on the eyes.
Even though it might not be a feature of most pieces of software, sometimes you can replicate dark mode by inverting colours—such as on iPads for example. Although it will invert all the colours (dark mode only inverts blacks and whites, and not reds and greens, for example), it doesn't make that much of a difference.
7. Use an e-ink device (might not be for everyone, though).
E-ink devices are devices similar to iPads, but they display image not by LCD, but with actual ink. The ink is displayed by electromagnetic signals either positively or negatively charging the ink particles in different areas of the screen. Being itself ink, its main advantage is obviously that it's soft on the eyes.
You'll want to use an e-ink device that works well with PDF documents (speed, pinch-and-zooming, etc.). There is also the formatting you need to take into consideration, since PDF documents with large borders will result in small text on the e-reader—although there is software to crop PDF documents which mostly remedies the issue. Smaller PDF files might not be worth reading on an e-ink device, but PDF files of 20 to 100 pages or more could be worth it. The managing and transfer of files adds an extra step to the process, but once completed, it can work out well. Also take into consideration that this requires a more tech-savvy approach, which is might not work for everyone. Lastly, PDF files aren't rendered that great on some e-ink devices—Kobo devices are the best ereaders for reading books, but their PDF rendering is 10 years behind (although there are 3rd party add-ons to make it better), and I don't have much experience with Kindles (a Google search would be useful for this).
Again keep in mind this might not work out for everyone. It would work best if you don't mind learning how to crop PDF files, as well how to set up the device and manage files. Also, and again, this isn't a good option for PDF files of only a few pages, but more for PDF files (course PDFs or textbooks) of 100 pages or more.
8. Take breaks.
Not that fun to constantly hear, but true nonetheless. If you take breaks every 1.5 hours or so, it gives time for your eyes to rest (as well as the muscles that help focus your vison). After completing a degree by distance education, coupled with doing this, it can result in a net difference in regards the state of your vision.
9. Study using your computer mainly during the day, and not before bed.
Many night owls won't agree with this suggestion, but if you study mainly during the day, there is less of a need to manage lightbulbs, lamps and so on. As for being in front of a computer screen before going to bed, having experimented with this for over 10 years, it has considerable effects on your sleep. You'd be better off taking an hour or so before bed to enjoy a good and old-fashioned printed book, and then have much better sleep, to then return to your studies the next morning much better rested—with more energy, better functioning memory, better recall of learnt material, etc.
10. Take notes on paper instead of in a text editor (or print them), then study with them away from the computer.
Writing out notes by hand adds a physical component, which apparently helps for the memorization of what you are writing—however, the biggest benefit is studying your notes on paper, which I've found to be a better way to learn and memorize whatever I'm studying (although I only do this for some things).
CONCLUSION
There might be more ways to reduce eye strain from computer monitors, other than those listed above. If you find something that works, definitely use it (and maybe even share it here). However, as students obtaining credit mainly from online education—and with such large amounts of text that we need to read—it is crucial to reduce the amount of strain and harm that could result from such means of reading. There's no point in getting a degree if you arrive at the other end half blind.
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