Effects of Navigation Tools and Computer Confidence on Performance and Attitudes in a Hypermedia Learning Environment

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of navigation tools and computer confidence within a hypermedia environment. Twelve course sections containing 354 undergraduate college students were blocked by ability and randomly assigned to an embedded hyperlink group, a content list group, or a concept map group. Results indicated that students in the content list group scored significantly higher than those in the embedded hyperlink group on the achievement posttest and had more positive attitudes toward the program. Navigation patterns indicated that students in the content list group and the map group visited more distinct pages than those in the embedded hyperlink group. Furthermore, high computer confidence students scored better on the posttest than low computer confidence students. Implications for designing hypermedia instruction are provided. ********** Hypertext is viewed by some researchers as a promising medium to facilitate learning in a computer environment (Jonassen, 1986). Information in a hypermedia system is presented in a nonlinear way by through hypertext by interconnecting knowledge nodes into a network. It has been suggested that the use of a hypertext system can improve learning by representing an expert's knowledge structures and presenting them to learners (Shapiro & Niederhauser, 2003). Hypertext also offers learners more control over a learning system, allowing them to make choices about how to proceed and creating a unique path through the text. Learners are able to make their choices based on their prior knowledge and learning experience. Opportunities for choice may increase their willingness to interact and use hypertext (Gall & Hannafin, 1994). Another potential benefit brought by multiple accesses to information in hypertext is the possibility of coming at a topic from various perspectives, which makes the achieved knowledge become more flexible and transferable (Sprio & Jehng, 1990). However, the use of hypermedia is accompanied by many problems. According to Conklin (1987), learners may feel disorientation or get lost in a display hypertext network, having difficulty knowing where they are and how to get to other places. Since the hypertext system allows more learner control and cognitive flexibility, it places additional cognitive requirements on learners. They have to spend their cognitive resources on choosing what to read next and deciding the sequence of their learning. Making these decisions may increase a learner's cognitive burden and decrease resources spent on knowledge processing (Jonassen, 1988). One approach to remedy these problems is to provide the learner with a navigation tool to facilitate them moving through the system. Navigation tools, such as indexes, content lists, and concept maps, usually externalize part of or all of the hypertext structure and present it to the learner to show them an overview of the structure. Content can be displayed by selecting corresponding topics from the overview. The tools can also be designed to inform the learner of their current position in the hypertext system and highlight nodes that have been traversed (Allinson & Hammand, 1999; Brinkerhoff, Klein, & Koroghlanian, 2001; Dee-Lucas & Larkin, 1995; Edwards & Hardman, 1999; Farrell & Moore, 2000; McDonald & Stevenson, 1998; Puntambekar, Stylianou, & Hubscher, 2003). These tools may have an impact on alleviating disorientation and reducing a learner's cognitive load. Researchers have found that navigation tools increase navigation efficiency, reduce the feeling of being lost, improve learning performance, or change learner navigation patterns (Allinson & Hammand, 1999; Dee-Lucas & Larkin, 1995; McDonald & Stevenson, 1998; Puntambekar et al., 2003). On the other hand, navigation tools may impose a simplified structure over the existing knowledge structure in the hypertext (Gall & Hannafin, 1994), impeding the cognitive flexibility and transfer of underlying knowledge structures without forcing the learner to fully interact with the hypertext (Jonassen, 1986). …