The Fiend of Hypertext or The Visualization of Inert Knowledge:

Conclusion

Rather than abandon the confusing elements of hypertext, and try to make it conform to the standards of printed text, as Rouet and Levanon suggest (1996: p.20) I suggest a more complex approach seems the best of many possible answers.

First, the re-organization of the web as a whole into some cohesive structure - a daunting undertaking, but one necessary to create a comprehensible framework. This could begin with the creation of more complex search engines, and greater cross-indexing of sites by content and not simply by title. Eventually, new sites would categorized and cross-indexed at their inception.

Secondly, standards for hypertext creation should be raised. Sites should offer not only amassed information, but a clearly defined structure using frames, color-coding, anything beyond simple lists that also enhance an immediate grasp of the matrix of information.

Third, hypertext use and creation should be introduced and taught simultaneously with standard text - ideally creating bilingual generations of text and hypertext users/creators.

In this admittedly simplified, and idealized structure for progress, I see the hope for one of my strongest beliefs: that in the true incorporation of hypertext into the learning processes of future generations, without fear of the "fiends" of inert knowledge, disorientation, or the iconoclasm of prose-interface acolytes - children will learn to manipulate images in an eloquent language that universally evokes and engages both cognition and respect.

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