Prior computer-related experiences and hypermedia metacognition

Abstract

One way to summarize our findings is based on the extent to which a predictive variable was correlated to another. The predictors that had correlations of .500 or stronger were (a) content-area software and programming (.702), (b) content-area software and hypermedia (.537), (c) content-area software and authoring (.563), (d) word processing and general computer knowledge (.735), (e) word processing and database (.836), (f) word processing and spreadsheet (.743), (g) word processing and hypermedia (.644), (h) word processing and authoring (.517), (i) database and spreadsheet (.914), (j) spreadsheet and hypermedia (.631), (k) spreadsheet and authoring (.677), (l) programming and hypermedia (.785), and (m) hypermedia and authoring (.938). Number of years of experience and general computer knowledge did not have moderate or better correlations with the other predictors and seemed to produce some of the least impressive results, especially the number of years of experience which, again, we suspect is not a valid or reliable measure. The two most consistent predictors were word-processing and hypermedia experience, although spreadsheet and database experience produced some, but not many, findings. Authoring language experience and programming experience, likewise, produced only a few results. Our basic premise has been to determine which types of computer-related experiences best predict less linearity or greater nonlinearity when using a hypermedia program. It appears that, with our findings and the predictor correlations, word-processing experience and hypermedia experience seem to be the most consistent predictors. The fact that word-processing experience is a strong predictor is quite encouraging because it is a computer-related skill that most students are exposed to and which, based on our results, involves nonlinearity. It is a computer tool students can use when engaged in a wide range of academic tasks that require them to reconstruct or reproduce their knowledge about a topic. It may be that even students with little hypermedia experience may proceed through a hypermedia environment in a less linear, more nonlinear fashion because of their word-processing experience. The Program 1 to Program 2 result inconsistencies lead to a basic condition related to our speculation that nonlinearity is strongly possible, provided a “warm-up” exercise is built into a hypermedia experience so that students gain a sense of the navigational options at their disposal. Sitting students down in front of a computer and expecting them to push aside all the linear learning they have done and automatically become nonlinear learners may be expecting too much.