Hypermedia Navigation Profiles: Cognitive Characteristics and Information Processing Strategies

Abstract

This study provides insights about how learning with hypermedia is mediated by system design and learner cognition. Videotaped observations were made of seventh and eleventh grade students using a commercially produced instructional hypermedia system. Analysis revealed differences among students in the paths taken, the type of nodes visited, the amount of time spent at each node, and think-aloud verbalizations. Three profiles of hypermedia navigation emerged from the data with each style characterized by a distinct set of information processing strategies. Analysis of the characteristics of the learners revealed that the students within each profile group had similar levels of prior knowledge, need for cognition, and self-efficacy. Studentgenerated concept maps appeared to be influenced by both the organization of knowledge within the system and navigation performance. Implications related to the design and use of hypermedia systems are considered.Currently, hypermedia systems containing curriculum-based content are found in classrooms at all educational levels. Although hypermedia learning environments may be designed inappropriately for some learners and some content [l-31, they are increasingly available and with the inclusion of advanced multimedia features have high levels of visual appeal. As this type of instructional material finds its way into classrooms, a question of importance is how learners navigate through these systems and how they acquire knowledge from them [4,5]. The importance of not separating the development and application of these systems from theories of cognition and instruction has been emphasized [3].In hypermedia, information is organized as a directed graph consisting of information nodes which can have one or more out-going links that connect to associated destination nodes [6]. The nodes may represent knowledge in a variety 189 0 1999, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.

Predicting Reading Comprehension on the Internet

“…This finding is not in line with evidence from a large body of work that documents the important role that prior knowledge plays in offline reading comprehension (e.g., Anderson & Pearson, 1984;Bransford & Johnson, 1972;Kintsch, 1988;Means & Voss, 1985) and hypertext comprehension (e.g., Dillon & Gabbard, 1998;Lawless & Kulikowich, 1996;MacGregor, 1999) for all readers. Consequently, something unique may be taking place as low knowledge readers interact with and process hyperlinked text in open digital spaces.…”

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Exploratory Study of Relations Between Prior Knowledge, Comprehension, Disorientation and On-Line Processes in Hypertext

“…High prior knowledge helps learners to follow more structured navigational patterns [22] and less sequential exploration [23]. One explanation is that high prior knowledge learners would be able to identify semantic relations between text sections and, hence, to construct more coherent reading orders [12].…”

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