Hypermedia

1
Hypermedia

• Cognitive Science 2006
• Desereah Esquivel
• Morgan Grant
• Paige Burkham

2
Hypermedia

• HypermediaA term used as a logical extension of
  the term hypertext, in which audio, video, plain
  text, and non-linear hyperlinks intertwine to
  create a generally non-linear medium of
  information.
• This contrasts with multimedia, which, although
  often capable of random access in terms of the
  physical medium, is essentially linear in nature.
  
• The difference should also be noted with
  hypergraphics or super-writing which is a
  Lettrist form from the 1950s which systemizes
  creativity across disciplines.

3
Hypermedia (cont.)

• The World Wide Web is a classic example of
  hypermedia, whereas a movie on a DVD is an
  example of standard multimedia. The lines between
  the two can (and often do) blur depending on how
  a particular technological medium is implemented.
• The first hypermedia system was the Aspen Movie
  Map.
• (compliments of http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper
  media)

4
Hypertext

• In computing, hypertext is a user interface
  paradigm for displaying documents which,
  according to an early definition (Nelson 1970),
  "branch or perform on request."
• The most frequently discussed form of hypertext
  document contains automated cross-references to
  other documents called hyperlinks.
• Selecting a hyperlink causes the computer to
  display the linked document within a very short
  period of time.

5
Hypertext (cont.)

• A document can be static (prepared and stored in
  advance) or dynamically generated (in response to
  user input). A well-constructed hypertext system
  can encompass, incorporate or supersede many
  other user interface paradigms like menus and
  command lines, and can be used to access both
  static collections of cross-referenced documents
  and interactive applications.
• The documents and applications can be local or
  can come from anywhere with the assistance of a
  computer network like the Internet.
• The most famous implementation of hypertext is
  the World Wide Web.
• The term "hypertext" is often used where the term
  hypermedia would be more appropriate.

6
Components of Hypertext

• Nodes
• Composites
• Link Anchor
• Link Markers
• Links

7
Subfields of Hypertext

• Adaptive hypertext- employ a user model to
  customize node content and filter the available
  link set.  Adaptive hypertext systems try to
  guide users towards interesting and relevant
  information and shield them from irrelevant
  information
• Hypertext design- concerns analysis and design
  methodologies for creating hypertext systems. 
  Hypertext design differs from standard design
  techniques due to its emphasis on links as first
  class objects and navigation.
• Evaluation- techniques that judge the ability for
  users to navigate effectively within a hypertext
  web and remain oriented when jumping into the web
  at random

8
Subfields of Hypertext (cont.)

• Writing- authors of this literature work in a
  non-linear creativity space in which they design
  not only content, but also link structure,
  structual features and navigation.
• Hypertext functionality- group that studies
  techniques for applying hypertext constructs and
  features to the everyday, non-hypertext
  applications found in business, engineering and
  personal applications.
• Open hypertext systems and standards- group that
  studies ways for different hypertext systems to
  coordinate information and services over the
  internet.

9
Advantages of Hypermedia

• The ability to quickly follow associations and
  look up related material. References can be
  traced both back-wards and forward in a way which
  can be difficult and time consuming with printed
  media.
• The user can annotate the material and create new
  references. Information can also be structured in
  a variety of ways. Multiple organizations of the
  same material allow for specialized structures
  for different user categories.
• Hypermedia has a strong potential for learning
  applications since learning by exploration might
  be facilitated in a natural way. The student can
  browse the material and find new information as
  she explores a subject area. Concepts encountered
  can trigger new ideas, and chains of associations
  can be followed in a convenient manner

10
Advantages of Hypermedia (cont.)

• Ease of browsing might increase the risk that the
  learner skips through the material much to hasty,
  and thus get a shallow and fragmented conception
  of the subject.
• The risk of getting disoriented can result in
  confusion rather than understanding, especially
  if the user jumps around between different nodes
  in a more or less random manner.
• Using a hypermedia system involves a certain
  cognitive overhead. The problems is that the user
  has to interact with the system in order to
  accomplish anything, which can be more or less
  complex. The author of a research paper, for
  example, might suddenly want to make an note on a
  new idea which she comes to think of. If this is
  complicated and requires many steps it is
  possible to loose track of the idea and partly
  forget it.
• The risk the one loses track of what one was
  writing in the first place.
• http//www.ida.liu.se/mikki/comics/lic/chap2.htm

11
Widgets

• A graphical interface component that a computer
  user interacts with, such as a window or a text
  box.
• Sometimes qualified as virtual to distinguish
  them from their physical counterparts, e.g.
  virtual buttons that can be clicked with a mouse
  cursor, vs. physical buttons that can be pressed
  with a finger.

12
Cyberspace

• "Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination... A
  graphic representation of data abstracted from
  the banks of every computer in the human system.
  Unthinkable complexity."

13
Cyberspace (cont.)

• Cyberspace can be thought of as a very large,
  distributed, and visualized hyper-media
  structure. Cyberspace can be conceived as an
  independent realm, a shared virtual environment
  whose inhabitants, objects, and spaces are data,
  but data which is visualized, heard, and perhaps
  touched. William Gibson describes cyberspace as a
  computer generated hallucination of a gigantic,
  world-wide network of databases
• The virtually unlimited size of cyberspace and
  the heavy use of visualization techniques makes
  it interesting with respect to orientation. Like
  in a virtual world, it is important to give the
  user a feeling for how large the world is, where
  she is, and where she can go form the current
  location. Maps could be a helpful tool for
  navigating cyberspace.