A Hypertext on Hypertext

I was interested in Bolter's chapter on hypertext and the remediation of print--that if we consider hypertext in a material sense, we can respect the cultural work it does in getting rid of traditional hierarchy. I'm fascinated with the notion of hypertext as material--it seems that all new media is material, as well. Not only is new media concerned with the material and physical, but it does so to a greater extent than "traditional" forms of media and older technologies. New media forces us to be physically active; it encourages us to click on that link and be led to another site. We refer to hypertexts, as Bolter notes, in physical/material terms: we "visit" a site online (29). By clicking on hypertexts, we are forced to participate in the new medium and are then active learners/readers in it. Gunther Kress, in a lecture at the recent Watson conference, made the point that new media design forces readers to be active and to take control of their learning. Comparing the photo placement in a traditional, text-based book to photo, text, and sidebar placement in a DK (coffee-table) Guide book, Kress pointed out that the DK book's use of text alternately with photos and sidebars got rid of the usual hierarchy--or proscribed order--in which a book is supposed to be read. Therefore, the reader was implicated in constructing the order and was actively participating in the text, rather than just passively following along, reading each page in order from top to bottom, left to right. This shows that new media is an excellent starting point in order to get students to be active readers and writers, physically participating in the conversation.
--eliz25 (26!)