"LINKING IN HYPERTEXT/HYPERMEDIA IS AMONG THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CAPABILITIES THAT HAVE EFFECTED DESIGN to date. These capabilities make it possible for individuals to access information in tightly controlled or open-ended manners, literally enabling lessons of unlimited variation" (Hannafin).

Nodes: A node is a chunk or fragment of text or other media. Another way to describe a node is to say that it is a basic unit of information.

Links: Links describe associations. It is possible to link to anything. There is no limitation placed on the designer when creating links. It is possible to show links in a variety of ways including using buttons or hot spots.

Hyper: More than.

Hypertext: In basic terms, it means more than text. We usually think of hypertext as consisting of nodes and links. Hypertext may be non-linear and non-sequential.

Hypermedia: An extension of hypertext that includes graphics, animation, audio, and video with text.

Some people believe that since hypertext/hypermedia is non-linear it is a great constructivist tool to be used to support what teachers and students are doing. Although hypertext/hypermedia is non-linear, there has been little empirical testing done to see if this is really helpful to the learner.

Many suggest that it is more suited to browsing and incidental learning since research has shown that more learner control doesn't always lead to more learning occuring; learners don't always select wisely.

Since a link can associate a wide variety of nodes, and since nodes can consist of almost anyhing, it is not surprising to realize that there are many different looks and feels in the programs available that use hypertext and hypemedia.

As you can see to the right, although web pages and hypercard stacks both are able to use hypertext and hypermedia, their visual presentation is different.

Hypercard

World Wide Web

Wendy Parcel, Graduate Student