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Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia

Volume 6, Number 3/4 1997

Articles

Misleading Theoretical Assumptions in Hypertext/Hypermedia Research
Sigmar-Olaf Tergan

The Effects of Learning Style and Task Type on Hypermedia-Based Mental Models
W. Michael Reed, David J. Ayersman, and Lee A. Kraus

Navigation and Disorientation: A Case Study
Licia Calvi

Simulations: New “Worlds” for Learning?
Carolyn Dowling

Educational Characteristics of Multimedia: A Literature Review
Luann K. Stemler

The BEATS: Hypermedia Support for Responding to Literature
Karen Swan and Carla Meskill

Adaptive Computer Control in a Hypermedia Materials Science Document
Ian Ivar Suni and Susan Mallon Ross

Hypertextual Dichotomies: The Evolution of Two Hypertextual Pedagogies in School Education
Glenn Russell

Managing the Complexities of Hypermedia Development: Challenges for On-Line Digital Publishing
Bryan P. Bergeron and Michael T. Bailin

Abstracts

Misleading Theoretical Assumptions in Hypertext/Hypermedia Research

SIGMAR-OLAG TERGAN
Deutsches Institut für Fernstudienforschung an der Universität Tübingen
Abteilung Angewandte Kognitionswissenschaft
Konrad-Adenauer-Str. 40, 72072 Tübingen, Germany
sigmar.tergan@diff.uni-tuebingen.de

In this paper, the author outlines and critically reviews basic theoretical assumptions of research on learning with hypertext and hypermedia. The focus is on whether the results of research on hypertext/hypermedia-based learning support these assumptions. Results of empirical studies as well as a theoretical analysis reveal that many research approaches have been misled by inappropriate theoretical assumptions on the potential of structural and functional features of hypertext/hypermedia to support learning. Theoretical shortcomings of research are discussed. Suggestions for future research are outlined.

The Effects of Learning Style and Task Type on Hypermedia-Based Mental Models

W. MICHAEL REED
Department of Educational Theory and Practice
404-B Allen Hall
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV 26506-6122, USA
wreed@wvnvm.wvnet.edu

DAVID J. AYERSMAN
Instructional Technology
Mary Washington College, B-8 Trinkle Hall
Fredericksburg, VA 22401-5358, USA

LEE A. KRAUS
West Virginia StateDepartment of Education
1900 Knawha Boulevard, Building 6, Room346
Charleston, WV 25305-0330, USA

This paper is based on a two-study line of inquiry. We investigated the effects of context-weak versus context-strong tasks and learning style on the citation-frequencies and citation-percentages of four mental models students perceived to be inherent in a hypermedia learning environment. The four mental models were (a) semantic networks, (b) concept maps, (c) frames/scripts, and (d) schemata. They were further grouped as linear (semantic network, frames/scripts) or nonlinear (concept maps, schemata). The difference between the two studies was that in Study 1 the research participants could cite as many of the four mentals as they chose for each of the target commands, features, or tools; in Study 2, they were limited to citing only one.

Findings include (a) the students cited more frames/scripts when the task context was strong than when it was weak (both studies); (b) they cited a higher percentage of schemata when the context was weak than when it was strong (both studies); and (c) that Convergers cited the most instances of schemata and Assimilators cited the fewest (both studies). Results are interpreted within the frameworks of linear versus nonlinear mental models, learning style differences, and user-based versus information-structure mental models.

LICIA CALVI
Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
University of Antwerp (UIA)
B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
calvi@uia.ua.ac.be 

This paper presents the preliminary results of a pilot research project on disorientation in hypertextual educational systems. As such it focuses on spatial cognition by exploring its correlation with hypermedia navigation. This approach also implies the consideration of the more specific relationship between comprehension and navigation. This is why the paper starts by concentrating on one of the truisms of human-computer interaction (HCI), that is, stating that users need to build some form of conceptual representation of the devices (e.g., a book, a database, or a hypertext system) they are interacting with in order to understand them.

Provided that it is possible to identify the existence of a similarity between navigation in the real world and navigation in a virtual world like a hyperenvironment, an inevitable question comes to the fore, that is, whether the same devices (e.g., maps) which have proven to be appropriate in a “real,” physical navigation can be as useful in the case of hypermedia navigation. A series of experiments have been set up within our department to verify the validity of all the previous assumptions.

CAROLYN DOWLING
Australian Catholic University (Mercy campus)
412 Mt. Alexander Road
Ascot Vale, Victoria 3032, Australia
c.dowling@mercy.acu.edu.au 

The proliferation of increasingly sophisticated computer-generated learning environments raises a number of philosophical and pedagogical issues. Many of the most interesting relate to the role of computer-based simulations in educational contexts. From dynamic spreadsheets through “microworlds” to virtual reality, the convenience and, in many instances, the seemingly intrinsic appeal of simulated environments exist in some tension alongside concerns regarding the relationship of the simulated to the “real” and the possible consequences for human thought, learning, and behavior. This article examines a selection of these issues in relation both to familiar educational computing environments and to others currently under development.

Educational Characteristics of Multimedia: A Literature Review

LUANN K. STEMLER
Applied Computer Science Department, 5150
Illinois State University
Normal, IL 61791-5150, USA
lstemle@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu  

The use of multimedia technology has offered an alternative way of delivering instruction. Interactive multimedia learning is a process, rather than a technology, that places new learning potential into the hands of users. Information on the design and use of multimedia characteristics are not available as a coherent body of literature. Educators should have access to appropriate ways to design software packages that will take advantage of multimedia capabilities without losing the focus on the user’s needs or the content being presented. The scope of this paper is limited to a review of research on educational multimedia features used for instructional purposes. In this article the effects of (a) screen design (visual elements: color, text, graphics, and animation), (b) learner control and navigation, (c) use of feedback, (d) student interactivity, and (e) video and audio elements on the development of educationally effective multimedia modules are examined.

KAREN SWAN and CARLA MESKILL
National Research Center for English Learning and Achievement
University at Albany
Albany, NY 12222, USA
swan@cnsvax.albany.edu 

In this paper, the authors report on the design and pilot-testing of the BEATS, a prototype hypermedia application designed to support response-based literature teaching and learning at the secondary/postsecondary level. Although the prototype itself is concerned with the works of the Beat writers, it contains a set of response-based tools that could be used with any literary work. It was on the use of these tools for supporting student responses to literary works that our pilot study focused. Findings from the pilot suggest that the tools can provide unique support for response-based teaching and learning. In particular, we found that the hypermedia tools provided support for the voices of reticent students, encouraged discourse and more reflective conversations among them, and encouraged the linking of ideas to specific texts. The paper concludes by linking these findings to Langer’s (1990) four stances of engagement in the reading process.

Adaptive Computer Control in a Hypermedia Materials Science Document

IAN IVAR SUNI
Department of Chemical Engineering
Clarkson University
Potsdam, NY 13699-5705, USA
isuni@sun.soe.clarkson.edu

SUSAN MALLON ROSS
Department of Technical Communications
Clarkson University
Potsdam, NY 13699-5760, USA

Two hypermedia software prototypes were assessed to determine their effectiveness in helping students solve numerical problems. The prototypes, which employ complete user control and adaptive computer control, respectively, were developed for introductory concepts in materials science and engineering. Assessment was performed by giving 200 students 10-question tests before and after viewing the two prototypes and comparing student improvement. The adaptive computer control prototype included a page containing questions similar to three of those on the pre- and posttest. The assessment results were mixed for these three questions. On one question students showed a significantly greater improvement for the adaptive computer control group. This question asked the students to identify the equation describing nonsteady-state diffusion. Another question did not show a significant difference in student improvement between the two software prototypes, and the third had a statistically insignificant number of incorrect responses. We suggest that our results provide evidence that since problem-solving ability involves both conceptual understanding and task mastery, adaptive computer control is the most appropriate navigational strategy in hypermedia design for science and engineering education.

GLENN RUSSELL
Faculty of Education and the Arts
Griffith University, PMB 50 Gold Coast Mail Centre
Queensland, Australia
G.Russell@eda.gu.edu.au 

The increasing popularity of hypertextual applications in schools is reflected in World Wide Web pages, CD-ROMS, and authoring programs. However, the growth of interactive fiction in schools using programs such as Storyspace has not been as rapid as its uptake in other areas. This situation is explained by an examination of the history of hypertext, including print-based antecedents. Two disparate traditions involving the use of hypertext can be identified which are applicable to school education. Although a computer science view of hypertext has predominated over other hypertextual implementations such as fiction writing, societal changes and school computer use are likely to encourage change.

BRYAN P. BERGERON and MICHAEL T. BALIN
Medical Informatics Laboratory
Department of Anesthesia & Critical Care
Massachusetts General Hospital, Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
bergeron@hstbme.mit.edu

The barriers to publishing hypermedia documents through the Internet and other electronic media have been greatly reduced by the rapid emergence and adoption of the World Wide Web and similar technologies that support the rapid dissemination of content. What remains to be addressed, however, are the increasingly complex and resource-intensive tasks of quality content acquisition, management, and maintenance, especially when the scope and depth of content are equivalent to that of conventional peer-reviewed reference texts. A well-designed system of content needs analysis, source identification, and content management is especially critical in realizing the maximum potential of multimedia authoring and editing tools, content management systems, and similar enabling technologies.