Hypermedia Tools For 21st Century Teaching

What does the term "hypermedia" mean? Honestly, this was a concept that I had a hard time grasping and had to look to further resources to help my understanding. What I gathered from the many sources I looked to was that hypermedia is software that allows information stored in various media to be connected. For example, when watching a Youtube video, there are "suggested videos" that are given which relate to the topic of the video that is playing. When a video is uploaded to Youtube, you are asked to provide a few keywords describing what is in the video. This is so that people can search within a related topic rather than only being able to find a video by its exact name. Techopedia describes hypermedia as "Hypermedia allows links to be embedded in multimedia elements like images and videos. You can tell if something is hypermedia by hovering the mouse cursor over the image or video - if the element is hypermedia, the cursor changes, usually into a small hand.

Although the Internet is the best example of the use of hypermedia, there is a lot of software that makes use of both hypermedia and hypertext. A lot of word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software like Microsoft Office allow hypermedia and hypertext to be embedded into the documents created. For example, in Microsoft Word, users can add hyperlinks to any word and even add links to pictures. Microsoft PowerPoint has the same feature for hypermedia."
How is this useful within the classroom? Hypermedia can be used within the classroom by both student and teacher. Teachers can use hypermedia tools and programs to facilitate instruction; using software, such as educational games, to present information is a fun way to catch the student's interest. Students can also use hypermedia programs for creating projects and as a means for research in a technological manner. Research has found that students are more enthused about completing a project or paper when hypermedia is involved. Hypermedia programs also benefit students with different intelligences by providing students with the opportunity to learn using diverse tools. When there is the opportunity to learn using different methods, students are more apt to be interested in the assignment because the choice is in their hands. The creation of hypermedia products also allows students to apply higher order thinking skills in their work by challenging them to constantly make decisions and evaluate their progress.

Picture Location

A fun way for teachers to integrate hypermedia into the classroom is through game-based reviews. In middle school, my teacher would use the game Jeopardy to review for an upcoming test. He would hook the game up to a projector and the class would play it as a whole, but it would also be fun to do in groups using one computer per couple of children. Another way to incorporate hypermedia in the classroom is through interactive storybooks. The creation of these storybooks allows children to expand  on literature that they have read or create their own story. Others may read their storybook by clicking on different parts of the page to hear or view parts of the story.

Allie


Hypermedia. 2013. In Techopedia.com. Retrieved November 29th, 2013, from http://www.techopedia.com/definition/3105/hypermedia


Roberson, M. (2010, February 28). Examples of Hypermedia. Retrieved from 
http://roberson.wikispaces.com/Examples of Hypermedia

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.