Hypertext Principles for text and Courseware Design

Most text, because of its arrangement, implies a sequential order. Despite efforts to convey content structure, readers access most text in serial order. Because cognitive principles of learning suggest that we all construct knowledge differently, hypertext breaks the sequential processing tendency by allowing readers to modify the sequence as well as the appearance of the text they are reading. Readers may decide what information is relevant to them and what sequence produces the most meaningful learning. In this article, hypertext is defined and types and examples of both print and electronic hypertext are described. A rationale, based on web learning and generative learning hypotheses, is presented. Finally, three levels for implementing hypertext are described, with emphasis on electronic (especially microcomputer) applications.