How do Learners Engage with Hypermedia in Vocational On-line Learning?

Abstract

The merger of computer, communication, and information technologies has enabled the current hypermedia capabilities found on the Internet and Intranets. The use of hypermedia to complement customary instruction or even to provide entire courses has a great deal of momentum in educational communities. For example, in the IT training market it has been predicted (IDC 1998) that technology based training in 2003 will comprise 14 percent of the market, up from 2 percent in 1998. However, an understanding of how hypermedia technologies will support educational processes present us with a number of substantial challenges. For not only does the use of these technologies not guarantee effective learning, inappropriate uses may in fact hinder learning. Nonetheless, educators and authors (e.g. Hall 2000) argue that many aspects of technology make it easier to create environments that fit the principles of learning. This paper reports a preliminary analysis of data collected from students interacting with educational hypermedia in a vocational setting.