Case 03 — HyperCard, Hypertext, and the Expansion of Reading
Overview
| Item | Content |
|---|---|
| Period | HyperCard announced 1987, spread through schools in the early 1990s |
| Technology | HyperCard (card-, link-, and script-based multimedia authoring) |
| Audience | Elementary and middle school; museum and library exhibit experiences |
| Literacy | Nonlinear reading, understanding information structure, multimedia expression |
Technology Summary
HyperCard puts information onto “cards” and connects cards with buttons and links. Instead of reading in sequence like a book, the reader chooses the path. It is personal hypertext from before the hyperlinked web.
Literacy Improvement Mechanisms
- Nonlinear reading: Reading strategies of building your own path through tables of contents, indexes, and links
- Information architecture: Structural thinking about “what to put up front”
- Text + image + buttons: Interpreting multiple sign systems on a single screen
- Authoring as reading: Practicing explanatory writing while making signboards and local introduction cards
Field Operation Tips
- With no scripting, produce a mini guide using just 3–5 cards + links
- Topic example: “Our village experience course — a three-card guide”
- When sharing finished pieces, discuss “which link did you press first?” → checking reading strategies
Implications for Paju Activist Training
- Great for explaining today’s interactive web and mobile content as its prototype, through direct experience
- Can be converted into a hands-on task: designing experience-course guide cards for local education resources
- Easy to combine with library and museum partnership programs
Notes
- The tool itself was discontinued, but the card-and-link structure lives on in Notion and web/app UX
- The flagship case for teaching “reading = choosing a path,” not “reading = front to back”