The Potential of Hypertext
THE KEY TO HYPERTEXT is in its manuverability. Potentially, the reader can skip and jump from subject to subject and avoid areas which may seem irrelevant, redundant or dull. But in order for the reader to gain such exploratory freedom, more authors must turn to the development of more hypertext. A relatively new phenomenon, hypertext is still limited for few writers have attempted to craft their art to this nonlinear format. Hypertext's popularity so far has risen from its research and entertainment value. Few people have attempted to write books specifically for this nonlinear format. It can be done, though - Roger Schank and Chip Cleary's hyperbook, Engines for Education, is an excellent example.
Hypertext has the potential of becoming a whole new way of writing fiction, non-fiction, even how-to manuals. In addition to being a valuable education resource, EdWeb strives to serve as an example of the hypertextual instruction. There are many published books on the subject of education and technology, but beyond Engines for Education (which focuses on artificial intellegence), few other attempts are available on-line and for free. With EdWeb, the reader can explore the world of computers in the classroom while testing the possibilities of hypertextual instruction.
