Hypertext
Posted by learningleads on March 13, 2008
I’ve been finding myself torn concerning issues we encounter in my graduate class, Writing for Electronic Communities. Currently we’re reading Geroge P. Landow’s Hypertext 3.0, which explores the way hypertext is extending the possibilites in authorship and shifting power in the process.
When I was teaching high school English, I was adamant about students formulating and exploring their own thoughts and celebrating themselves as thinkers and as writers. But in doing so, I was accustomed to bringing them back to the book–printed text that offered an extension of multiple interpretations, but through an unchanging and linear reading. If a student’s assertions seemed poorly supported, we could turn to page ____ and read where he/she was getting his ideas.
The idea of shifting to this mode of non-linear reading and writing overwhelms me. In my career in instructional systems design for computer based training, we offer the learners choice in their use of simulated equipment, but the questions we need to consider are How far do we let them go and How do we bring them back when they’re off track?
When reading certain genres of hypertext, there is no off-track. Learners have the ability to navigate the direction of the text. I’ve tried to imagine how I would hold discussion on a piece of hypertext fiction without the ability to ground the students by turning to a specific page. I imagine clicking endless links on the Smartboard to access readings some may have not encountered. The possibilites for thought seem endless, but what would be the unifying effect?
