hypertext and memes

Last week in class, we were discussing the use of hypertext and its relationship to reading patterns and abilities in the secondary classroom. As an English teacher, considering and addressing the kinds of cognitive and skill-based demands that reading texts online makes of my students is an essential part of my role as an educator in the 21st century. How hypertexts are used and 'read' (within the broader skills set involved in 'digital literacy') are part of these considerations. It's certainly interesting (for me, anyway) to think about how I read when I encounter hypertexts and the ways in which it forces me to reorganise information or reassess what I think is important in answering the questions I have set for myself in my reading (if indeed I have set any questions at all). And, of course, to recognise that following hypertexts usually sets me on a distracting course of useless tangents.

Questions then: how are we to teach about and with hypertexts in the classroom? What is important to teach? What do students need to know to be able to use and read hypertexts? And what other considerations are there in the reading of internet-based texts that we might need to teach students about? Food for thought, especially if you're sending students off on an internet search for resources or information.


In related news, I've also been a bit obsessed lately with the idea of memes and the kinds of implications they have for the way students are creating, manipulating, understanding, analysing and valuing texts. (If you're not sure what a meme is, check out the Wikipedia definition). I think they are a really exciting springboard for a range of activities and learning in lots of domains, from thinking about cultural practice and values (History, English), pop culture's influence on behaviour, humour, interests, trends etc. (Psychology, English, Humanities), and media manipulation and referencing (Media, English).

Here is my current favourite product from a meme that began evolving a couple of years ago.