Electronic Publications And Their Methodological Advantages

By Author: Eva Acqui
Total Articles: 1
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Many elements of elctronic publications influence the philosphy of methodology. The article explores some of these influences and outcomes.
The use of electronic publications in teaching and training is not new, its essence stands in versatility, in the capacity of the electronic text to incorporate as much information as possible, and in the incorporation of the multimedia components, thus adding more impact on users. The web of information, the docuverse ( a word created by the fusion of document and universe, as used by Theodor Holm Nelson, the author of Future of Information, Ideas, Connections and Gods of Electronic Literature , and promoter of the hypertext) provides a cluster of information to users, which can be selected, ordered according to requirements, accessed and tailored according to documentation needs. Given the organization of hypertexts, that is the central blocks with the multitude of links and navigation possibilities, there is a double challenge for the instructor: the design of such a material, and the coordination of students in the use of hypertextual material. Both challenges imply ...
... methodological aspects of teaching with a multitude of requirements, such as proper selection of material, adequate design, a clear line of thinking and ordering information, the establishment of navigational options, and the overall objective of the material itself, that should meet the documentation needs of the student. Regarding both aspects, we have to consider several characteristics of the old and new media of information, meaning here the book form media and the new, electronic media. What makes digital media different from the old media? First of all, in comparison to the old media, the new electronic media and the hypertexts provide a continuous flow of information. There are various opinions in the field, characterizing the new media to be procedural, participatory, spatial ( Murray). Regarding methodology, the features depicted by Murray confer more discipline to teaching and learning alike, as there are certain procedures to be established and respected. They concern all issues related to hypertextual design, to material organization, to navigation, to organization of new material based on the facts in the hypertext. Participation is further increased by continuous coordination by the instructor and on and off-line participation by the student. Space is a characteristic that individualizes instruction based on electronic publication. Students get used to a new type of space, the hyper- or cyber-space, where they establish their own freedom of movement, according to their documentation or creation needs. The instructor may render the space limitless in case multitudes of links are suggested. This dimension differs from the book-based instruction, where the flow of documentation and instruction develops in one direction, without branching away into other directions. J.Z. Bolter finds other features of the new media, such as these being discrete, conventional, finite, isolated. Discretion refers to the choices of instructors and students to navigate at their own will, as dictated by teaching and documentation needs. Conventions are observed again, all related to the manner of navigation and material selection. Finite implies limits, often thought as impossible to establish when it comes to the possibilities provided by the new media. Isolation is afferent to the new media, as when these are involved, in both teaching and studying, the subjects do not work in group, unless otherwise established by the specific computer software or instructional needs. The new media and hypertexts are productive of virtuality (K. Hayles), cyberspace (William Gibson). These features are inherent and they provide a multitude of choices to instructors and students alike. They offer the opportunity to move freely in a space that is not provided by books, unless imagination is involved. They create some materiality to the subject investigated or studied, bring the objects of study closer to their investigators. Virtuality is a highly disputed issue when it comes to recreating atmosphere, characters, objects, atmosphere etc. According to Lev Manovich, author of Computable Culture and the Closure of the Media Paradigm, the new media is characterized by interactivity and vagueness, variability, selection-composition, teleaction, synthetic realism (illusions created by the computer or through virtual reality). These are the features that make electronic publications so attractive in terms of possibilities provided, at the same time creating new concepts such as synthetic realism. The outcome is that the participants in the teaching, researching, documenting process, have the satisfaction of encountering novelty most of the time. It is interesting to note that with all these characteristics, the founder of the hypertext term, Theodor Holm Nelson, after 45 years from the establishment of the term, still regards the means as being paper-confined, as hardly bringing novelty on the scene. In his book, Nelson states that hypertexts pose certain issues such a trans-publishing, trans-visualisation, copyright, transmedia, on the whole becoming what he terms as docuverse. With the present means of access and design of the Internet, we are still confined to the A4 paper limits, and our access is still sequential, from one page to another, or from page to page, but displaying all of them on screen, for another sequential view, we still do not have the parallel glass panels perspective, as he visualized things 45 years ago. Thus, the new media established a cultural tradition of its own right featuring direct manipulations of objects on screen, overlapping windows, iconic representations, dynamic menus (Manovich) . What is meant by cultural tradition of its own, what does such a tradition, as Manovich terms it, imply? He further states that it refers to direct manipulation of objects on screen: overlapping windows, iconic representations, and dynamic menus. These features are far from establishing a culture in the classical sense of the word. What are the elements that turn it into a culture and why would one involve methodology? In the study of various fields there has been a continuous need for comparison, for statistics, for information, and finally, for data. How would that need be met without a permanent and immediate access to a world of information? How would all that be done without random access, several windows at once, several sites, user-friendly programs, and many other features that characterize the new media? Such a volume of information requires a lot of time if it is to be handled in book form. With the new media, a lot of time is saved, as the links provide the possibility of selection and arrangement of information, for documentation, for study, for presentation. It builds on the needs and requirements of users, under or without the direct or on-line supervision of coordinators or instructors. Whatever the purpose, research, study, compiling, there must be a clear objective to such, as the branching away along multitude of links may pose problems related to time and relevance of information, upon which data blocks can be built, according to the documentation or study needs of users. Given the versatility of hypertexts, they share the features that can be approached by word-processing, thus enabling copying, moving, of texts, images, sound, video clips, enabling the users to compile a totally new text, that can be further shaped according to their needs. Such material can be linked to the original or can constitute another entity. Hypertexts can incorporate images, sounds, clips, as artistically as users consider adequate. Such features make texts more tangible, bringing them closer to their users. Their meaning and message is enhanced and they lead to another idea: that of tangibility. One of the purposes of hypertexts is to help users to get in touch, to virtually recreate the worlds they depict, to create virtual reality, with multidimensional perspectives. Such a possibility leads to a better perspective, to enhanced details, to a larger volume of information. We shouldn't forget the importance of synergy, referring to the output of such a process, which becomes more powerful and has a greater effect than its components, providing a different approach to the results of research and study. Thus, electronic publications enhance methodological approaches and perspectives, providing a progressive development: the more new elements, the better the approach, the faster the development, the faster the methods. The information and data become more specialized, more object-oriented, and enable the incorporation of quite a volume. It is to be underlined that the paths to the objects of study or research can be widened by incorporating avenues that would not be possible using methods basing on the book culture. The advantages of electronic publications over the book format publications in the field of methodology give rise to enthusiastic and skeptical opinions. Scepticism characterizes the top personalities in the field, such as Ted Nelson, who considers the technical means still inadequate to the vision. Enthusiasm is shared by users and coordinators who feel that electronic publications provide far better possibilities of study. There is still no first position taken over by any of the media, old or new, as they co-exist and equally contribute to study and coordination. About the Author "This person has power in the written word". Writers Institute of America, 1989