Extracts from Hypertext Journal Entries

English 101, Fall 1998

 

The comments below come from journal entries composed towards the end of the semester in which students assessed their experiences of working with various forms of hypertext. Entries pinpointed practical and intellectual advantages and disadvantages, reflecting both a thoughtful critical analysis of the medium and a judgment on how each individual might best exploit it.

 

 

• On compulsory computer classes as part of English 101:-

"More and more I am learning how to use a computer for informational and entertainment purposes...The best way to cure cyberphobia, which I had the worst case doctors had seen in years, is to get on the internet and play with it. How can you be afraid of the Mr. Bean web page?...It's great how teachers sort of force you to use them with assignments. I hated it at first, but now it's getting easier to use these resources and I'm happy I am no longer computer illiterate."

"Before I came to this class I knew nothing about computers or the internet, or how to search. Now I feel confident I can search the internet for almost anything, and successfully find it."

 

• On working with hypertext research sources:-

"In books, as I scroll down the page, my mind is filled with thoughts of what I am reading. Those thoughts come to a stop when I encounter words that are foreign to me, and often, I never figure out exactly what they mean...hypertext helps you out with confusing subjects..it is more easily explained with a click of a key."

"By being able to go to areas that contain pictures and charts regarding rainforest cutting is better because it gives you visual as well as text sites. The only bad thing is when reading the main page, I can't concentrate because of the blue links. It discoordinates me."

"By using hypertext, the author is able to direct the reader in multiple ways. The author is able to lead the reader to other types of concern. The material is simple to read...I retain a lot more info. this way. I am capable of going to different sites and obtaining what is needed. Disadvantage of hypertext - the always jumping to different pages. It could get kind of annoying."

"When reading hypertext you have the chance to do something else than read. You have the chance to use the mouse on the computer and click to different sites that are also on the topic you are reading. Hypertext lets the author do his work in as much detail as he wants. The author can give an explanation on things the reader might not understand."

"I feel that the material is easy to read because the information is given in short spurts rather than long paragraphs of information. I find I learn better w/ short spurts of information and I retain the information more...This helps the writer because it makes me want to spend more time on their page to read more about their information that they present."

" With hypertext, the quickest way to access info is to look for the little blue words. These blue words become our focus and not the text. It teaches us to skim the reading instead of actually consuming the info. Once we do link with another page by accessing one of these blue words, then we keep looking for more blue words. And the cycle continues and we lose out because we don't learn for ourselves."

"From these examples I only recognize one disadvantage in using hypertext. I believe the disadvantage is getting side-swipe[d] from the different links." Same writer, new journal entry: "Hypertext is a very useful and updated resource and one must be discipline[d] and literate to stay on track and not get lost."

• On a hypertext tutorial on Wilfred Owen's poem, Dulce et Decorum Est:-

"The material was easier to understand because I could place the words with the poem better. Since it is easier to understand, it is easier to retain. The writer has achieved a way of helping the reader to understand the text. The only disadvantages are that after you read the hypertext you get lost as to where you are in the reading and have to read it all over again."

"Call me old-fashioned but I think narratives and poetry work best in a text format. I think some things should be figured out by one's self rather than clicking on a hypertext and accessing the meaning of a poem....You're too busy accessing info. to capture the feel and the meaning and the flow of a work. Perhaps the hypertext could only be accessed after the poem has been read..."

"One of my biggest problems with reading is that I never comprehend half the information that I'm reading. For example, when I read the poem by Wilfred Owen, I read the whole poem before "clicking" on the links. I can understand what Owen is saying, but I cannot read any deeper into it than exactly what it says. By having the links highlighted, I could just click on them to get a better understanding of what Owen meant...Computers fascinate me...By being able to relate schoolwork to something I enjoy, it makes learning a lot easier, as well as fun." (Only a common comment towards the end of the semester!)

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