This is part of an ongoing mission to understand and explore the ways Hypermedia changes the way we think and learn.

Directions / Shakespeare / Blake / Why

One of the most hated things for students to study in English is poetry. This is a project that is intended to help people of all ages understand poetry in a deeper and more meaningful way by creating linked annotations to words within the text of poems.

Final Project -Presentation

I. What is it?
-1. Annotated Shakespeare and William Blake
-2. Show how it works. -internet version see directions page.
-3. Technical details
---a. There are only 5 sec. of reading time, so two or three lines of alt=text are the max.allowable. Less would be neccessary for children, since their reading rate is less than an adult.
---b. 1-2 second delay in text appearing on the screen. This has to do with connection speed; the slower the speed, the slower the text appears on the screen.
---c. Mac ready? Yes!
II. Why? Relating it back to the course
-1. Not like Nelson, the creator of Hypertext, but it has the same idea of trying to fit several sources withing a text using a system of links.
-2. Usable learning tool for children as well as adults, which we talked about in class.
---a. You don’t HAVE to read the text. If all the reader wants to see is the poem, that's all they have to see. The cursor can be moved to the side of the screen to avoid alt=text.
---b. for children, just simplify the alt=text
III. Purpose, future and problems
-1. The purpose is to create another tool for sharing information. If this is a useful tool to help someone understand a poet like Shakespeare, that is a good purpose.
-2. Could replace endnotes on the Internet
---a. GOOD: More usable than regular endnotes. There is no scrolling to read the notes, thus losing your place and train of thought in the text.
---b. BAD: Alt=text carries less information. Long endnotes would not be possible.
---c. BAD: And it can’t be copied. Alt=text cannot be copied and pasted from the screen. However, it could be if they viewed the sourcecode from their browsers.