Module 3: Cybertextspace by Dr Karin Wenz

The more I read the article, the more I understood.

In fact, the content helped me to understand what was written on the Module 3 tutorial notes page - seriously!!!
I was so unimpressed by the text (on the Mod 3 page) that I couldn't concentrate yesterday.
Maybe I was in a flippant mood 24 hours ago.
Unsure.
Anyway, I must've had my thinking cap on today.

Perhaps the best idea from the article (for me personally), is that each person has their own set of beliefs, experiences, and background knowledge - so any information received will ultimately be influenced by these variables, and in turn, will affect what they choose to do with the information.

I think Dr Wenz was trying to describe the internet and the content it holds - however, she kept referring to the game Myst, which I have, but which I played about 10 years ago (and haven't played since).
A check of references showed that the most recent article used dated from 1997 or 1998.

However, despite the age of the article, I don't think the basic way the internet works today is any different to the way it worked back then...except, of course, that it is much vaster and computers are more powerful, making access and ease of access, more immediate and astonishingly quicker.

Another valid point mentioned, was that due to the speed with which information is generated today, the way people experience the world has changed.
It's the internet that has promoted this change.

Hypertext and linking to other sites or explanatory notes (which Wenz used in almost every sentence...and which annoyed me excessively until I realised that each of these 'links' was actually just another point along the linear list on the home/contents page) can also affect what the reader learns or takes away with them.

Wenz's explanation reminded me of the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books popular with pre-teens in the late '70's-'80's (which allowed children choice in the story).
The hyperlinks in an online text allow the viewer the options to:

1. read in-depth about a particular point

2. skim ahead to the next point

3. jump to another site

4. close the window!

As a result, information gleaned will depend not only on the depth of information read, but also on the paths taken to read that information, as well as the personal background and experiences which the reader brought with them prior to reading.

In all. I found the article 'voiced' many things I already knew, and quite a few which I hadn't previously considered.

Well worth the effort!