Going along with the general consensus, I have to agree with the class that educators must find a balance between the use of printed material and hypermedia to most effectively utilize both hemispheres of the brain. We must not disregard either completely, nor should we let one dominate the other.

I agree that the feeling associated with reading the weathered pages of an old novel will never compare to the scrolling of text on a website, and I also admit that I had difficulty reading the article online probably more so than if I had printed it out. The vast multitude of options computers give us almost makes it more difficult to for me to focus on taking in more important knowledge (like reading the article), when I can easily be scanning facebook, looking up song lyrics, or instant messaging friends. However, when reading a book I can more easily lose myself in the pages and focus solely on what I am reading, rather than attempting to multitask.

The power of properly utilizing this hypermedia has endless possibilities for bridging gaps between students with different, complex learning styles. However, when putting together this new approach, the instructor must remember to remain true to the core material rather than bombard the student with superficial gimmicks that can just as easily distract as they can aid. Mauro’s anecdote about the wine glass was a prime example. By “challenging the reliance on abstraction and traditional logic that dominates universities and ‘learning’ today” (Bump 16), it seems that some instructors tend to throw out the tried and true foundations of reason that form the core that these creative supplements branch from.

I am a great supporter of the use of hypermedia, and I do agree that it is a “richer but more volatile combination of writing + voice + image of digital display, a wider,

fuller spectrum of expressivity that is to be the new operating system of the humanities” (Bump 4), with its inherent volatility in its ability to drastically change society’s concept of education and perhaps impose radical teaching styles that forget the main focus of the subject being taught. To find a perfect middle ground, that aids the learner and allows him to create and understand new ideas through synthesis of his right and left brain facilities, should be the ultimate goal of the postmodern education. The student should not be blinded to the truth by the bells and whistles that is often associated with hypermedia.