Hypermedia Courseware: Structures of Communication and Intelligent Help

This book is based on a NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Structures of Communication and Intelligent Help for Hypermedia Courseware, held in Espinho, Portugal, in April 1990. Two main perspectives are apparent from the contributions. One is pragmatic, and is centered on the improvement of existing hypermedia products, taken as instruments, particularly in the area of professional training in various fields. This involves integrating knowledge from diverse areas to make specific hypermedia products more effective. The papers in this group aim at improving the technical and operational aspects of educational hypermedia scenarios and studying solutions to be applied to hypermedia courseware to facilitate and perfect techniques such as browsing, navigating, or help. The other perspective is more ambitious. It views hypermedia as a powerful aid for learning in general and aims to study the mechanisms of the hypermedia-aided learning process and the conditions and basic principles for its development. The papers in this group reflect more caution on the immediate applicability of hypermedia and point out the need for research into the cognitive mechanisms involved in the interaction with hypermedia for effective and correct exploitation of hypermedia in future. The workshop consensus was that research should proceed in both perspectives and exchange results.