Hypermedia DB

It is very interesting for me to read from the perspective of one who is so technologically literate because I am not so myself. I felt at first almost as though I was standing on one side of a line along with probably half the class: as Mary put it, we are “frightened of the possibility of the digital world replacing the concrete world.” The other half of the class looked quite excitedly ahead to a future that seems completely digitalized, with hypermedia as the mainstream form of not only education but also most other aspects of daily life. On the one hand, I wanted to resist the change with all my might, fighting for the unique feelings gotten only by curling up with a good book, sitting down to talk face-to-face with a friend, and writing in a journal before bed. On the other hand, I did not wish to be like Postman in the sense that I praise one transition of education, but not another simply because I fear that change.

After thinking on this over the weekend and reading everyone else’s posts, I can now breathe a sigh of relief because I have realized, like Ashley and Trevor, that I do not have to choose between my books and my computer. Just as the “first great revolution in education” with the written word enhanced but did not stifle oral learning, and just as the second, “initiated by the printing press,” improved upon but did not do away with written language (Bump 5), hypermedia can supplement and augment all of these other previous types of learning without replacing them altogether. As Law states, I believe that this new technology can “compliment [old methods of learning] with its adaptable nature.” I want to stress, however, that I believe when hypermedia (and any new technology, for that matter) becomes more than a supplemental tool (when it becomes a way of life, instead), it can be detrimental to society and its values.

I recognize that among the benefits of hypermedia is its ability to “liberate[ ] visual literacy and other kinds of multiple intelligences” by utilizing multiple senses and emotions (Bump 8). I know exactly what Garrison is talking about when he mentions learning a lot of vocabulary and such from computer games he played growing up – Oregon Trail, anybody? I actually had an English teacher who encouraged looking at literature from many different facets (she held up a prism every time she said this), and we even took learning-style tests that showed whether we were more geared towards visual, auditory, kinesthetic, or other types of learning. I thought it was great because most of my other teachers had taken very narrow approaches to literature.

Notice, however, that my English teacher did not necessarily use hypermedia in order to reach out to the different sides of our brains. Although I enjoy the use of hypermedia in many of my classes (power points and music being only some of the forms), I realize that everyone still learns best in different ways, and for some people that may mean a plain lecture with no fancy slides or pictures. As an example, I know that when I am reading I concentrate much better if I have pages to turn rather than one long continuous web site to scroll down. Also, even though I type much faster, I always feel like I can get my thoughts out better when I am writing by hand (I pre-wrote this by hand, in fact).

[There are a few other topics I thought about including here, such as the wealth of information you deal with on the Internet (like Elizabeth’s mention of wikipedia) and hypermedia’s role in communication, however I felt that these topics weren’t as much related to education, so excluded them in this post. If, however, anyone wants to discuss these, let me know!]

I suppose that with our rapidly evolving culture, a new method of learning is in high demand to connect with new generations (especially those who are less technically-challenged than myself!), though the need for it was probably already inherent within society before the technology advanced to make it a reality. There were always people languishing in large lecture halls in pre-Power Point-eras, completely overwhelmed by the solely auditory lesson and longing for some good ol’ diagrams. There are also students just dying for the new dimension of learning hypermedia can deliver. With hypermedia as a supplement, I am hoping that education becomes a more well-rounded process, including all types of learning, whether it’s right-brained, left-brained, or some combination of both; but I am content in knowing that those of us who enjoy other methods of learning do not have to be left in the dark!