Hypertext: Then and Now
I was very interested in the readings on hypertext. I think the authors showed evidence that we have been progressing toward hypertext, perhaps since the beginning of the written word. Keep, McLaughlin and Parmer (2000) comment on how the Bible is similar to hypertext with its “tentative sequentiality” and “its history of multiple interpretations and re-writings.” It is not common for someone to open the Bible and read from cover to cover. Similarly with the web, we search for information that we need at a given time and interpret it as we see fit. There is no sequential order whereby we will reach an end and say we have finished reading the World Wide Web!
Bolter comments on how hypertext is similar to footnotes “which have been used in printed books for hundreds of years” (2001, p.27). Hypertext, as did footnotes, allows us to further explore ideas with great simplicity – more knowledge is just a click away. Unlike the footnote, one link can lead to another in a great network of pages. This feature of hypertext is particularly advantageous when we consider the use of online textbooks. It is a fantastic form of differentiation that allows students who need to explore a term or topic further to do so with ease. Advanced learners could delve deeper into topics of interest, and go beyond the required readings to increase their knowledge.
When writing, authors often aim to “create a perfect hierarchy” (Bolter, 2001, p.32). That is, they wish to maintain a structure in their writing that adequately organizes their thoughts and allows them to be easily followed by the reader. This is achieved in printed text through paragraphs, chapters and headings. The table of contents and index are use to allow readers to quickly find what they need in the book. Similarly on the web, there are menus usually found on each page and search engines that allow us to enter keywords and take us quickly to what we need. Pre-structured hypertext is adapted from print. “Self-navigating,” or “networked” hypertexts, in contrast, demonstrate an attempt on the part of the author(s) to shake off print conventions by moving away from the notion of a pre-conceived, logical, textual order and by giving over the reins of choice with respect to reading path(s)” (Dobson, 1998). So again, hypertext is evolving from previous print strategies, but is progressing and improving our reading experiences. Reading through hypertext is a more interactive process than the printed text was, and requires reader choice.
Hypertext, according to Bolter (2001, p.42), is more similar to how we think. We think “associatively, not linearly, (so) hypertext allows us to write as we think.” In this way, I feel that Bush and Englebart’s claims that “associative information structures are likely to improve human ability to approach and solve complex problems” (ETEC540 course notes) is certainly quite valid. Even the process of choosing the route one wishes to take on their journey through hypertext requires advanced thought processes and a higher level of comprehension than printed text. Contrary to Plato’s fears that written words would cause us to have weaker memories, we are instead becoming more knowledgeable and capable of finding the information we need.
References
Bolter, J.D. (2001). Writing Space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Dobson, T. (1998) “Hypertext and the question of reading.” Retrieved from https://connect.ubc.ca/bbcswebdav/pid-2750950-dt-content-rid-12134614_1/courses/CL.UBC.ETEC.540.66A.2015S1-2.50694/module04/m4-commentary.html
ETEC540 Course notes. (2015). Retrieved from https://connect.ubc.ca/webapps/blackboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_63666_1&content_id=_2750950_1&framesetWrapped=true
Keep, C., McLaughlin, T., & Parmer, R. (1995). “Re-thinking the book.” The electronic labyrinth. Available: http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/elab/elab.html
Good points. In my school we regularly use www for various learning activities. Due to its unique nonlinear characteristic of hypertext, it creates a new type of reading and writing environment. In which students can be involved in various interactive learning activities like popup books, electronic magazines, virtual library etc. As a literacy mentor I have observed that once students learn to use hypertext, they can be offered different options to explore various reading paths by selecting visual linking elements like icons, pictures, arrows, buttons, and scrolling bars etc. This can guide the readers through the nonlinear sequences of text and images that can become a valuable instructional tool. Furthermore it can become a motivating and inspiring tool as well since it address different learning style. I have also noticed that when students are mentally active, they can also adapt new ways of presenting information through computer-based technologies.
Today’s writers are also taking part in many online platforms, which Bolter defines as an extremely malleable electronic writing space. I agree with you that writers can create several sequential or non-sequential reading paths in a hypertext. In the field of education I think hypertext is a new kind of literacy experience for both teachers and students. Integrating hypertext writing skills into the classroom can enable students to offer new ways to collect and present projects, especially at university or college level. Furthermore, when students utilize their text-oriented assignments along with the graphics and video clips, it further strengthen their knowledge and learning.
Refrence;
Bolter, J.D. (2001). Writing Space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
“A new kind of literacy” is exactly the right term to use Mehdia. As time has progressed literacy and its definition has been constantly changing and I really believe it will continue to do so. Being literate in our parents age meant only the ability to read written text. Now we have visual literacy, digital literacy, scientific literacy, cultural literacy… just to name a few that people have defined. Hypertext literacy will be something so common place for the next generation. It will probably be a skill added to our curriculum guides very soon!
Thanks for your response!
Nice post Jenn! I find hypertext particularly interesting (and amazing) as it allows us to access specific information quickly and, as you mentioned, in a non-linear way. Not only that, I believe that hypertext helps individuals to stay focused as they can pull information from a variety of sources to help gather research and support ideas. Ong also discusses the labelling and the categorization of text. The evolution of text over the years has changed the way that we think and how we form opinions. Our shift to categorization, labelling and quick access of information has come a long way from how text was originally preserved in anthology. The move towards a more technologically advanced (specifically the incorporation of information communication technology) world facilitates information to be cross disciplinary. It does so by existing in several spaces, in contrast to the pre-technological forms of organization where information only housed one location. With the emergence of hypertext, information is more accessible and provides a greater purpose as it.
Laura
Thanks for your reply Laura! I also find hypertext useful as many articles will link to definitions or other articles that clarify information!
Hi Jenn,
I agree with Laura that hypertext is marvellous. It is much more aligned with our thinking and imaginations! Hypertext finally gets to show its colours in the digital space. As Bolter writes, in a printed book it would be “intolerably pedantic” to append footnotes to footnotes (Bolter, 2001). The computer, however, allows a very fluid movement between notes and layers of text. It’s beautiful!
One attempt at (pre-digital) non-linear storytelling I recall well is the Choose Your Own Adventure book series, which were published from 1979 to 1998. In these books, the reader had to navigate the story to determine the final outcome (e.g., “if you enter Door A, turn to page 89”; “if you enter Door B, turn to page 99”). Today, there are many iterations of this style of story-game, through online portals and apps, where people are encouraged to create their own self-determining narratives.
I’m curious where the equivalent will end up in other linear spaces such as film. Run Lola Run (1999) comes to mind as it presents a kind of ‘hyper-textual’ narrative. It contains multiple narratives structured in a parallel fashion, inviting the viewer to imagine each potential outcome. It is a very fast film that attempts to mimic the speed with which we might imagine various paths, in a split second. I’m not very familiar with virtual reality, but I believe that is the evolutionary and interactive direction of film.
Thanks for your post!
Julia
References
Bolter, Jay David. (2001). Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print [2nd edition]. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Choose Your Own Adventure. (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Your_Own_Adventure
Run Lola run [Motion picture]. (1999). Columbia TriStar Home Video.
Thanks for your response and good points! I think the accessibility of information is amazing! Driving along on our vacation this week we were quickly able to access information on anything that came to our minds from who exactly Prince Edward was to directions from one place to another and were always linked to more information on something related! I found it to be a great educational experience for my children who got much more information than I got on family vacation! 🙂
I thought about those Choose Your Adventure books so many times during these readings! They were so much fun! 🙂
I also found the writing on hypertext fascinating. The bible has other features that make it similar to hypertext. It has been labelled in the form book-chapter-verse, which makes it possible to cross-index points in the bible, effectively creating links. Concordances that serve as indexes have been created that facilitate searching by keyword. These features can be used to connect the bible to other writings, such as commentaries, making it part of a larger global hypertext. This may be what Conklin and Nelson had in mind when they wrote “A literature is a system of interconnected writings. We do not offer this as our definition, but as a discovered fact.” (quoted in Bolter, 2001)
Bolter (2001) presents both sides in the discussion about whether print or hypertext is better at presenting a more natural, authentic experience. One of the arguments of the supporters of print is that “letting the reader choose links only gives the illusion of control, which is really withheld from the reader”. Even self-navigating hypertexts only offer this illusion of control, since the links are defined by the author. Search engines, the indexes of the www, give the reader more control by allowing her to determine her own path, and create her own associations, through the interconnected writings. An app such as AnnotateIt gives more control back to the reader by allowing her to create annotations that can include links to other pages. This may be an example of what Bolter (2001) has in mind when he writes that “digital technology seems to reduce the distance between author and reader by turning the reader into an author herself”.
References
Bolter, J.D. (2001). Writing Space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.