WHAT IS HYPERMEDIA?

Chapter 2

Long before the Internet made its presence, the concept of hypertext and hypermedia had existed in the traditional printed medium. While a printed book does not have all the same features of a typical Web page, Bolter (2000) equates the footnote to the clickable buttons found on typical Web pages. Another example of hypermedia pre-Web are interactive storybooks. The reader is not expected to read from front to back cover, but rather is encouraged to navigate around the textual information, sounds or animations in a non-linear fashion. 

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Bolter (2000) highlights some contrasting features between the two text mediums. On a printed book, it is a common feature to have “layered writing,” where the footnote would “link” the reader to a more subordinate topic. However, on a Web page, Bolter (2000) posits how a link may lead the user to a longer and more elaborate page. Ultimately, he states that all Web pages may be of equal importance.

As the Web went through its many trajectories, the design of web pages changed as well. During the Web 1.0 era, most webpages were designed for browsing rather than for reading (Chen, 2014). As the Web 2.0 era emerged, the focus centred on “engaging users as critical producers of media” (Chen, Wu & Wang, 2011). Consequently, hypermedia environments have become spaces where users interact with one another through hypermedia messaging, such as Facebook and Youtube.

 

Today, students are likely to find learning in hypermedia environments to be both interesting and motivating as they are provided ample opportunities for authentic learning. Unfortunately, educators often assume that students do not need training to use hypermedia competently (Cloister and Wine, 1989). Working within a hypermedia environment requires more than just skills for acquiring information; students and digital users in general need to develop the awareness of the consequent footprint that follows them as they navigate through this space.