Hypermedia: Using Interactive Technologies to Engage Learners

In our modern world, technology is entrenched in our daily lives, especially for young people who have grown up knowing nothing else. As technology has developed, we have moved from being passive observers of the virtual world, to contributors and now creators of content (Oddone, 2016). The way we have come to interact and use technology has changed the way we live; so too should it change the way we educate. Technology should not be something solely reserved for Industrial Arts teachers or ICT classrooms, but rather, every space in a school should be built around providing learners with opportunities to manipulate, engage with and learn from technology. In doing so, we can develop our student’s technological literacy so they are prepared for 21st century living (Mishra & Sharma, 2005). So, how can we create technology enhanced, interactive English classrooms and why is it so important?

English is so often thought of as synonymous with piles of books, Shakespeare plays and essays. Although all these things have a place in the curriculum, modern content requirements are now emphasising the importance of using a range of texts of different mediums in the classroom (Jetnikoff, 2015). Considering that the new stage 6 syllabus has removed poetry as a compulsory text type, with novels almost meeting the same fate; multimedia texts have remained, undisputedly, compulsory since their instigation (BoS, 2012). This highlights that the value of multimedia texts has long been recognised by educators and policy makers alike. Multimedia texts are defined by their inclusion of a range of mediums such as visual, written and audio elements (Lawrence, 2015). Such texts have the potential to offer new and improved learning opportunities in the English classroom (Mishra & Sharma, 2005) as they involve a variety of sensory organs in the learning process (Zhang, 2016). In integrating a range of mediums, these text types are incredibly engaging and accessible for students with all types of learning styles (Lawrence, 2015). On the right are the different elements in a hypermedia text and how they relate to different learning styles.

Hypermedia refers to a specific branch of multimedia that involves the user as an active participant (Wissick, 1996). Similar to multimedia, such systems utilise texts, graphics, animation, voice, music, slides, movies, or motion video to engage users (Wissick, 1996). However, it is not just the array of mediums that makes hypermedia texts valuable in the classroom, it is the level of engagement and interaction students have with the system (Lawrence, 2015). With hypermedia texts, the user has increased control over the sequence and speed in which they engage with content (Chen et al., 2014), allowing students to progress at their own pace and explore content in unique ways. This level of individualisation results in improved learning, learner satisfaction and task completion rates (Mishra & Sharma, 2005). Hypermedia texts allow for the creation of new tasks that would have been previously unachievable using traditional text forms. Such texts transform learning by encouraging original, independent and higher order thinking (Romrell et al., 2014) as the content and landscape is unique for each user. These outcomes are the result of high interactivity, meaning they belong uniquely to hypermedia texts. Thus, I feel as though there is a need to distinguish between multimedia and hypermedia texts, as only the latter truly offers transformative learning that encourages higher order thinking.

Below is a graphic of the SAMR model (Romrell et al., 2014): a guide to understanding whether or not technology usage is transforming or merely enhancing learning and a great reference for any teacher that uses technology in the classroom.

This highlights that meeting technology and text requirements in the classroom is far more complex than simply selecting any online multimedia text that is relevant to English. Research shows that in spaces that have inadequate technology access, or where limited resources are available, teachers look for ‘walk-around’ ways to incorporate multimedia texts (Jetnikoff, 2015). Examples of this include projecting a website, playing a video with words and audio included or designing WebQuests for students to complete. These examples only require students to view or listen, and as a result lack the interactivity that is unique to the hypermedia medium. Understandably, it may be difficult to source, design and execute a unit plan around hypermedia texts as there are none listed on the recommended text list for multimedia. For stage 4, the list compiled by the Board of Studies (2009), identifies four Shakespeare websites, a to kill a mocking bird information site, and two Jane Austen information pages as multimedia texts. Despite these being online, and thus requiring the use of technology to access, they are failing to take advantage of the full potential of the multimedia medium (Chen et al. 2014). Majority of webpages were text based, requiring students to read through pages of content for information.

In looking at this department generated resource list, I have come to understand the importance of keeping current. It is clear that old traditional and canonical text types still have a significant influence on the multimedia category. Unfortunately, this ignores the fact that multimedia texts are inherently contemporary with more and more being produced and published online everyday from around the world (Chiariello, 2017). This means that there is a wide array of content to choose from when looking for a text that reflects the interests, abilities and diversity of your classroom (Jogie, 2015). Hypermedia may be more difficult to manage, track and assess, due to its unstructured nature (Chen et al., 2014), as students will be working at different paces and engaging with different content. For teachers who are unfamiliar with all that the World Wide Web has to offer, it can be incredibly daunting and difficult to even find a hypermedia text to use. As hypermedia texts are absent from teaching resource lists, its understandable that for most teachers, these text types don’t even cross their minds. To rectify this, I have compiled my own hypermedia resource list that can be used in the English classroom (see below). Also, for an example of a 10-week unit design using incorporating a Hypermedia text (Bear71) see here. Hopefully this will help all those teachers out there who feel motivated by all benefits of hypermedia texts but unsure of where to start in incorporating them into units.

When selecting texts and designing units, it is important to consider whether or not we are transforming learning and teaching our students important skills for modern day living.If students are engaging with a multimedia texts in the exact same way that they could a book with several chapters, then we are not truly using technology to transform learning (Romrell et al., 2014). If we require our students to read and record information in the same way students have done for centuries, then we are only developing lower order thinking skills (Romrell et al., 2014). If we use multimedia in this way, we are merely using technology as a direct substitute for traditional texts and will not see the many benefits of hypermedia in our classrooms. Technology has a pivotal role in modern society and education. As teachers, we must learn to harness the full potential of interactive media in our classrooms to engage our students, encourage higher-order thinking and prepare them for the technological workforce. As multimedia has become the standard literacy of the 21st century (Mishra &Sharma, 2005), there is no better way to do this than to embed multimedia into your English teaching.

Engage your students, stimulate them and give them control of their own learning. In doing so, you will be creating an interactive, individualised and improved learning environment in which every student will have access to success.

Now, what teacher doesn’t want that?

Hypermedia Resource List

Welcome to Pine Point

Exit Australia

Legacies 150

Bear 71

After the Storm

Seven Digital Deadly Sins

Websites to check for new hypermedia resources

National Film Board of Canada

SBS interactive features

The Guardian interactive department

PBS Learning Media

References

Chen, D.T., Rose, L. & Wang, Y.m. (2014). Hypermedia Competencies. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 23(2), 135-144. Waynesville, NC USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Chiariella, E. (2017) A Classic Debate. Literacy Today. 34(6). 26-29

Jetnikoff, A. (2015) A case study of teaching English and multimodality with ICTs: Constraints and Possibilities. English in Australia. 50(2).

Jogie, M. (2015) Australians schools teach the same texts for decades: good policy or big problem?. Australia association for research in education.

Lawrence, R. (2015). Teaching Techniques: Creating Multimedia Learning. Carpenteria, CA.

Mishra, S. & Sharma, R. (2005). Interactive Multimedia In Education And Training. Idea Group Publishing.

NSW Board of Studies(BoS) (2012). English K-10 Syllabus. Vol. 2.

Oddone, K. (2016). Making the Leap: Students as creators not consumers. Resources for Australian educators. Sydney:NSW.

Romrell, D., Kidder, L. C., & Wood, E. (2014). The SAMR Model as a Framework for Evaluating Learning. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 18(2), n2.

Wissick, C. (1996). Multimedia: enhancing instruction for students with learning disabilies. Journal of learning disabilities. 29(5). 494-503

Zhang, Z. (2016). The use of multimedia in English teaching. Us-China Foreign Language. 14(3). 182-189

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