Hypermedia as an Educational Technology: A Review of the Quantitative Research Literature on Learner Comprehension, Control, and Style

By virtue of its enabling rapid, nonlinear access to multiple forms of information, hypermedia technology is considered a major advance in the development of educational tools to enhance learning, and a massive literature on the use of hypermedia in education has emerged. The present review examines the published findings from experimental studies of hypermedia emphasizing quantitative, empirical methods of assessing learning outcomes. Specifically, the review categorizes this research into three themes: studies of learner comprehension compared across hypermedia and other media, effects on learning outcome offered by increased learner control in hypermedia environments, and the individual differences that exist in learner responses to hypermedia. It is concluded that, to date, the benefits of hypermedia in education are limited to learning tasks reliant on repeated manipulation and searching of information and are differentially distributed across learners depending on their ability and preferred learning style. Methodological and analytical shortcomings of the literature limit the generalizability of all findings in this domain. Suggestions for addressing these problems in future research and theory development are outlined.