A Practical Application of "Writing" Hypertext Literature in the English Education of the Elementary School

A Practical Application of "Writing" Hypertext Literature in the English Education of the Elementary School

Hypertext raises question to general assumptions about our conventional conceptions of education. In this essay, three kinds of learning-models are presented by the application of "writing" hypertext literature to the English education of the elementary school. These models, which I call the "scene-centered" system, give knowledge to learners in non-linear, non-sequential structure. The term "scene" is a single concept or idea composed of a single sub-text, which is to be made by the group of students. This system is focused on the collaborative composition of students. Students, by generating sub-texts and connecting texts, perform the educational activities to expand the source text. The "scene-centered" system is, to put it into a Barte's term, a "writerly text." But in order to "write," "reading" should be accompanied. So, this system is a learning model in which writing and reading are carried on simultaneously. In all the process, students play a role of multi-user, with three access rights: read, write, and annotate. So, students making use of hypertext systems will act as reader-authors. And teachers will take the new role in collaborative writing environment. No longer the central authoritarian evaluator, they will become consultants, co-writers, coaches of their students.