Cassandra Shott

February 20, 2005

Draft 1

ENG-110 Dr. Hall

Introduction

            Technology has become an integral part of today’s society. Children today are growing up online and the pen is quickly being replaced by the keyboard. By some this is seen as a great tragedy, by others a new frontier. This is certainly an exciting time to enter into pedagogical conversation. One of the technologies that I have found most interesting is hypertext. Hypertext is roughly defined as “the electronic linking of text that we often find on the Internet” (Patterson, 74). As more and more classrooms have access to computers and the Internet, hypertext is becoming a part of children’s learning experience. My question is how does the use of hypertext technology in the classroom effect current writing pedagogy?

Significance

            We have come to a point in time where literacy is being redefined. It has only occurred twice before in our history. First when humans began to write their oral traditions down on clay or paper. Next when Gutenberg developed the printing press and books became available to the masses. Here we are now at a time when information is a keystroke away and stories need no longer proceed from start to finish. The significance of exploring this new literacy cannot be underestimated, for it is today’s teachers-in-training who will use this technology in the classroom.

This new literacy is known as electronic literacy and it is very widely defined. According to Keith Topping, “electronic literacy refers to literacy activities … which are delivered, supported, accessed, or assessed through computers or other electronic means rather then on paper” (4). With a definition this board, one can see that a great many of our daily activities involve electronic literacy. Electronic literacy demands a different approach from the reader and writer. Hypertext is a facet of new technology that has the capability to radically alter writing pedagogy. This means that teachers will have to learn new ways of teaching which factor in hypermedia. Rather then the narrow definition of reading and writing as a linear process, hypertext allows children to play with text and learn to read and write in a non-sequential format.

It is very important to study this emerging area of pedagogy because we can no longer escape the influence of the Internet and the technology it brings. Children are now exposed to near instantaneous information and dynamic texts online, the key will be to discover how we as teachers can use this new technology to our advantage. It is our purpose as educators to provide children with “an education which will develop their full potential as language users to a level of critical literacy” (Mayher, 45). To fulfill this obligation, it is our duty to understand current technologies and give children the skills that they need to be adults in a technologically advance world.  

Research

            I expected to find little on the subject of hypermedia in the classroom, but much to my surprise, educational journals were brimming with new studies and practical applications for hypermedia. The affects of hypertext use in the classroom have been found to be very positive for the most part. It takes a very innovative teacher to utilize hypertext and make the experience worthwhile to the students. Nancy Patterson is an eight grade teacher who utilizes hypertext in her writing classes. She found that hypertext “helps [students] move beyond their traditional concepts of textuality” (para. 2). This also means that as teachers we need to start moving beyond our own traditional concepts. She introduces hypertext to her students through a series of assignments which also incorporate traditional eighth grade language arts content. Patterson has her students create a “Biography Web” (para. 11) and “Poetry Annotation” (para. 24). These projects require students to view text differently and “wrestle with their existing definition of text” (para. 32). She discovered that students most had a problem with hypertext’s “lack of linearity” (para. 30). In her studies she also found that given enough exposure, nearly all students got past this and developed a “sense of power over the text” (para. 5), which I feel is important for successful writers.

            One of the major effects that hypertext use was found to have on student learning was in the realm of student engagement. Hypertext is by definition interactive and encourages students to become more involved in it than with traditional books. They are constantly choosing what to read next and clicking to get there. Nancy Patterson found that students “participate or transact with hypertext in a way that is generally not possible with print media” (“Hypertext”, 75). From this new transaction many have found that children are very excited about using hypertext. Web publishing is another perk of using hypertext and Patterson found that her students “know their work will be published and they are very motivated to make their {work} worthy of public viewing” (“Weaving”, para. 36). Web publishing gives children an authentic reason to write and this is often inspiring to students. Cameron Richards also suggests that new technologies including hypertext have a “potential to encourage a more active voice in students who may feel intimidated in face-to-face classroom situations” (66). This new voice for many students would be powerful in the classroom. Active and engaged students are what schools have been struggling to develop for decades.

            Another affect that hypertext has had on learning is that it forces teachers to consider new ways of teaching composition. However, this does not mean that teachers need to learn a completely new set of skills. Many of the necessary skills are in use in classrooms today; they just need to be adapted for use in hypertext. Katherine Kellen discovered that “to read hypertext requires concentration; to write it requires mastery of organization” (123). These are both skills which are readily taught in the classroom today, hypertext has the promise of giving children an authentic way to hone these skills. Topping suggests that “the traditional emphasis on detailed knowledge and retention will be replaced by more emphasis on transferable skills in selecting, processing, transforming, evaluating, and add to information” (15). This is a very exciting statement in my opinion. It falls in line with what we are being taught in this class about the nature of learning.

            A big challenge for teachers will come in the form of teaching children to compose on screen. Rather then having children turn in ream after ream of paper, students may only hand in a disk. How will this affect the way that students obtain feedback? Russell conducted a study of hypertext in the classroom and found that “there was little evidence that students were concerned with changes to the normal practice of handing in written or printed materials… but teachers found this fundamental change…difficult to come to terms with” (sec. 3.3). Many teachers are rooted in their old habits and changing these will put them in disequilibrium. Some will adapt, and some may not. For new teachers and teacher candidates, hypertext could be a new and promising addition to the classroom. Another challenge to current pedagogy is in the nature of teaching the writing process. Carol Pope acknowledges that “seeing a student’s writing drafts in process will be harder because they will embed and internalize their own recursive writing process” (92). Whether this will have negative or positive impacts has yet to be seen. Students may need to learn a completely distinct process for working with hypertext.

            It was difficult to find many peer-reviewed journal articles which refuted hypertext’s influence in the language arts classroom. I was only able to find one and it was a review of a book which dealt with hypertext. Since the original text was from a book, it was beyond the scope of this assignment. I would be curious to read the book in the future to find out what it has to add to the hypertext conversation.

Possible Solutions

            There can be no doubt that hypertext technology does affect children. It seems to me that whether this affect is positive or negative depends greatly upon how the technology is utilized in the classroom. A very important fact to me was that much of the resistance to new technology comes from the teachers rather then the students. I think that teachers and future teachers need to rise to the challenge that students are putting before us. Hypertext is a reality and a necessity of their world; we need to make sure that they are equipped with the skills they need to navigate these waters. Before we can teach the skills we need to develop them in ourselves. Taking a computer class or two never hurt anyone and it will help to make teachers more aware of the changing face of literacy.

Questions

            My research has opened many more doors for me. The idea of using hypertext in the classroom is newly emerging and the research itself is just starting to blossom. The

One question which is in the forefront for me is that of how to provide access for students from low income families. Daniel Wagner speaks of a “digital divide” which is springing up in our nation (14). He has found that “Americans with less education – those who might benefit the most from the Internet’s education value – are falling further behind in digital access” (14). This is a big problem, especially for small and rural school districts, such as the one I work in. There are families in our town which do not have electricity or running water in their homes, how can we provide then with equal access to computers and Internet technology?

My second questions deals with further applications for hypertext technology in the classroom. All of the articles I came across utilized hypertext in annotating poetry or writing a biography. What about its applications for creative writing? I have seen what can be created with hypertext and it lends itself to creative writing. My best guess is that it would be up to the creative teacher to discover new applications. I am sure that if I continued to such and branched out beyond the peer reviewed journal I would be able to find more information.

Self Analysis

            Over the course of this assignment, I saw many connections between my process and the process that Stephanie Harvey describes in Non Fiction Matters. I began my process with a very general idea of what I was interested in. I was not really passionate for any particular topic at the start of my inquiry. I had come across several articles on using technology in the classroom and it was interesting to me. I branched out from here, finding more resources and getting a general idea of what research was out there. I was operating under Harvey’s idea that “the more information I collect, the greater my desire to find out about the idea” (32). In the course of my research I came across the discussion of hypertext. I have taken many computer classes and I really enjoy both reading and writing in hypertext. When I discovered that many teachers were beginning to use this in their classrooms, the idea ignited something inside of me.

 I realized that hypertext in the classroom would be a much narrower field of inquiry and that I may have more success in researching he topic if I narrowed it down to this. There was still plenty of research available in the field and plenty to discuss. Harvey points out that “the more kids know about a subject, the easier it is to pare it down to a manageable state” (41). This was definitely true for me during this project. I found that with my broad base in distance learning and the amount that I had researched on technology in the classroom I was more able to whittle my question down to the more manageable topic I have currently. The ask the question of how technology influences writing pedagogy would have led to a paper so long that it would be of little use. Focusing on hypertext allowed me to go more in depth and explore the subject fully rather then giving a broad overview.

Many of the articles that I found online discussing hypertext and technology in the classroom were either accounts of an actual teacher using it in their classroom, or a study of children in the classroom. This was important research for me and it meant a whole lot more than if I had read other people’s second hand accounts. Many of the articles had quotes directly from the children involved in the experiments and class projects. These first hand accounts and the opinions of the children had great resonance for me.

I found myself using all of Harvey’s comprehension strategies that she proposes for children. I think that these strategies help all learners, regardless of age. “Synthesizing information” (72) was the most helpful for me in this assignment. I pulled information for a great number of sources and I often had to sit back and give myself a chance to figure out how these sources fit together. My background knowledge also served me quite well while researching this question. I understand computers, computerized education, and hypertext. If I had not had prior knowledge of these topics the research sources I discovered would have been much more difficult to comprehend than they were.

Conclusion

            Hypertext technology is here to stay. My research has definitely led me to this conclusion. I realized that the real question is not will we use hypertext, but instead how will we use hypertext? My self analysis has helped me to discover that no matter how much schooling you have or how old you are, the process of inquiry remains the same.

Works Cited

Kellen, Katherine Nowak. “Expanding Our Reach: Writing HTML Commands to Create

Student Hypertext Writing Projects”. English Journal. January 2002 : 122-24

Mayher, John S. Uncommon Sense. Portsmouth, NH : Boyton/Cook Publishers, Inc,

1990

Patterson, Nancy. “Hypertext and the Changing Roles of Readers”. English Journal. Nov.

2000 : 74-80

--------. “Weaving Middle School Webs: Hypertext in the Language Arts Classroom”.

KAIROS. 5.1. Spring 2000 : 47 Paragraphs

Pope, C. & Golub, J. “Preparing Tomorrow’s English Language Arts Teacher’s Today: Principles and Practices fro Infusing Technology”. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 1. 2000 : 89-97

Richards, Cameron. “Hypermedia, Internet Communication, and the Challenge of

Redefining Literacy in the Electronic Age”. Language Learning and Technology.

4.2. Sept. 2000 : 59-77

Russell, G. “Elements and Implications of a Hypertext Pedagogy”. Compuuters &

Education. 31. March 1998 : 185-93

Topping, Keith J. “Electronic literacy in school and home: A look into the future”.

Reading Online. 1998 : 28 pages

Wagner, Daniel A. “Literacy, Technological Literacy, and the Digital Divide”.

TechKnowLogia. May/June 2000 : 14-16