Reading academic hypertext documents in college brings a new level of complexity that changes the definition of college reading and literacy. Knowing how to read these unpredictable, nonlinear texts requires familiarity and practice. The author describes the nature and usefulness of hypertext, reviews the challenges of reading hypertext, and…

The effects of epistemic beliefs and text structure on cognitive processes during comprehension of scientific texts were investigated. On-line processes were measured using think-aloud (Experiment 1) and reading time (Experiment 2) methodologies. Measures of off-line comprehension, prior knowledge and epistemic beliefs were obtained. Results…

The incorporation of various textual resources into scientific inquiry is important for establishing background knowledge. Many of these resources are now presented in hypertext or hypermedia environments, which require students to comprehend and actively integrate information from multiple sources. Further, numerous practices employed by readers…

When reading traditional texts printed on paper, students start reading from the top left-hand corner and finish at the bottom right-hand corner. Their eyes move in a straight line, which is a linear activity. However, when reading hypertexts, students can click a hyperlink to find out certain information. As they click the various hyperlinks,…

With the development of the WWW and Internet, hyperreading has become an issue for discussion in the educational field and more specifically in the field of English as a second or foreign language. Yet, very little is known about its nature concerning the reading process. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine whether…

Finds that a graphical browser (a graphical representation of the structure of a hypertext document) had no effect on recall, comprehension, or recall of text structure but that it did increase the amount of text read by users and reduced the number of nodes repeated during reading. (SR)

This experimental study examined the effects of multimedia on Internet news readers, in particular focusing on Web site design and its effect on comprehension and recall of news stories. Subjects (84 undergraduate students) viewed one of two versions of the same Web site--one with multimedia and one without. The Web site consisted of six stories…

Current electronic text formats can hinder the acquisition of main ideas or the central representation of a text unless some structural cues are embedded in the reading environment. This principle is based on the premise of cognitive psychology that learning is a reorganization of cognitive structure and that readers are most likely incapable of…

This paper describes Project LITERACY-HI, an ongoing 3-year federally funded study of the benefits of electronically enhanced text for mainstreamed students with hearing impairments. Preliminary information documents the ongoing difficulties with reading experienced by most students with hearing impairments. The project is creating electronic…

This paper describes a study undertaken to examine how four variables (domain knowledge, topic knowledge, individual interest, and situational interest) impact recall of information from a hypertext environment. Participants in the study were 107 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the School of Education at a large northeastern…