EDU 807 Spring 2018 - Week 5 - Hypercard Introduction - Group 2
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Hosted on the Internet Archive, this video about Hypercard (26:50) is described as:
An introduction to Apple's Hypercard. Guests include Apple Fellow and Hypercard creator Bill Atkinson, Hypercard senior engineer Dan Winkler, author of "The Complete Hypercard Handbook" Danny Goodman, and Robert Stein, Publisher of Voyager Company. Demonstrations include Hypercard 1.0, Complete Car Cost Guide, Focal Point, Laserstacks, and National Galllery of Art. Originally broadcast in 1987. Copyright 1987 Stewart Cheifet Productions.
We are going to watch one segment of the video, both because I can't embed the media from the Internet Archive (and this segment was on YouTube) as well because you just got done doing lots of reading. Please view the video and respond to these questions:
- How is Hypercard described? Given the focus of computer-aided instructions in the 1980s, and the fact that this was pre-WWW, what was unique, interesting, useful, or engaging about this program?
- What potential purposes could Hypercard -- as a component of teaching and learning -- and why/how was it different from other programs?
- Though the video doesn't talk about it in particular, in what ways might this use of technology position teachers? In what ways might it position students?
- In short, who has power and agency as you look at the way technology is described?
Bill says the hypercard is a software erector set allowing the average user to put together and search for different bits of information. Is this a pre cursor to www? I think when this was introduced the interactivity must have been a very novel idea!
Yes, Jennie, this was pre-WWW.
So, to push your thinking on this, could you dive into that second bullet point?
What potential purposes could Hypercard — as a component of teaching and learning — and why/how was it different from other programs?
I suppose teachers could have asked students to pull together information for a project- perhaps even an e portfolio on a particular topic with lots of explanations from the students
Hypercard was full of information, however, unlike WWW, it wasn’t coming at the user in a fire-hose manner. The stacks of information was manageable (what could fit on a floppy disk) as compared to the amount of information available today that teachers and students must sift through to find relevancy.
Hi Pam
Thank you for pointing that out. I didn’t even think about that aspect in that the www has so much more information and students nowadays need a higher level of abstraction and critical thinking about when to use and how to find relevant information
The apple facilitator describes the hypercard as a software erector set. I’m not familiar with erector set but from what I gather it allows you to build things. Hence hypercards allows a user to build things using information contained on cards/floppy disks. Hypercards are unique in that they create opportunities to not only present information but to interact with it as well.
My understanding matches your understanding Cedric and also you have extended my thinking in that maybe people collected a library of these cards to cover many topics. A bit like a more interactive encyclopedia that was lighter and could be update in an easier fashion than reprinting books!
As a parent of boys, I’m familiar with erector sets and I think the facilitator also meant that the knowledge acquired from one card could help expand to the knowledge of additional cards. The knowledge continues to grow in various directions and the cards are the stepping stones. I agree with Jennie too that the cards covered many topics similar to mini encyclopedias.
Since I have zero background in hypercard, I looked it up a bit and a lot of people said they made games with it and that it was a precursor to web browsing… since it was pre WWW though, could it be shared? I think it could be useful as a personal information storing software program. Or perhaps it could be used to teach and learn code…?
Hi Sarah
You have reminded of an aspect to the hypercard in that you do not need internet and there’s limited finite information on the card. So this be sharing means sharing the floppy disc I think
Hypercard could be used at different grade levels. From an elementary standpoint, it could be used to help students identify and recognize objects and their common features. For example, students could type the word wheel and scroll through the various cards that contain a wheel. Teachers could use talk-aloud to assess the steps students used to find the wheel or describe the wheels. In secondary classes, students could learn to make new buttons using different visual and sound effects.
Hypercards functionality supports complex learning such as basic programming but also simple learning like creating digital flash/index cards. Teachers could create entire lesson plans with cards (links) to specific topics which include visuals. For example, illustrating the differences between solids and liquids in a science class.
Full disclosure, this product and video are from before my life began :) BUT just seeing how he interacts with Hypercard, it almost seems like the visual version of Alexa or Google Home. Instead of typing “horse”, you can now just talk to Alexa or some other device. The capabilities are much more complex with the newer technologies but the HyperCard seems very command/demand based. In simpler terms, it seems similar to a tech based rolodex. I mildly understand his explaining it as a software erector set for personal use but I don’t see any collaboration functions.
I like your comparison to Alexa or Google Home, I do see how for the time (`87) it was command driven. Unrelated…some days when I’m driving and I speak aloud and ask my Jeep to call my office and talk hands free, I wonder, what was my commute like before all of this technology? Did I just jam to the radio and not communicate? (safely of course).
Alexa or Google Home certainly seem like more advanced versions of hypercards. What crossed my mind was something a bit more near and dear to our hearts the blackboard given functonality that it supports course content creation which contains infomation in multiple forms and links.
Please offer at least two initial comments on the video, as well as two responses to your classmates. Despite the impulse to make comments on the clothing, hairstyles, and eyewear, please try (try!) to keep your comments focused on the content of the video.
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