Innovations in Teaching: Hypertext to Enable Deep Reading

Hypertext — the linking of documents in a computer — has become so commonplace with the World Wide Web that, like computers themselves, it has become almost invisible. In the late eighties, investigations around hypertext became a particularly strong thread in technology research, especially in computing for the humanities. The computer systems at the time to support hypertext required customized software tools, which rarely left the research field. Since then computing tools have developed so that everyday, familiar, commercial tools can now approximate those of the research environment.  

Presented by Professor W. Brett McKenzie, this session applies some of the earlier research on deeply engaged reading by students through the hypertext tools available in the Google suite provided to all RWU students. The implementation was in my fall Senior Seminar and focuses on the Virginia Heffernan’s book, “Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art”. The presentation will cover both the technical aspects of implementation as well as a reflection on the classroom experience.