Anatomy, Grammar, Syntax & Taxonomy of a Hyperlink

Hyperlinks make the World Wide Web what it is. If links did not exist, EVERY web page would be a stand alone. Let’s take a close look at these “clickable thingies”

I  like the metaphor of thinking of hyperlinks as the “wormholes”, that transport us from one section of the universe to another, which is being mentioned on the Web Writing Style Guide 1.0 on the WritingSpaces.org site:

While U. S. Senator Ted Stevens’ metaphor of the Internet as a series of tubes (2006) is inaccurate, we can reasonably think of hyperlinks as the paths (or if you want to get sci-fi geeky: wormholes) through which we travel across the World Wide Web. Click a link and almost instantaneously you will move to a new page within a web site or—seemingly magically—to some new website hosted half way around the globe. In fact, the importance of hyperlinks cannot be overstated; there is no web without hyperlinks connecting one text to another (or more often, one text to many).

Hyperlinks make a word or a series of words “clickable”. Traditionally they underline the chosen word or phrase and are recognized by changing the font color to blue. Themes and other formatting of website  can change the appearance of links. [Langwitches blog currently uses a theme that turns the "clickable" word or phrase to a bold format (not blue nor underlined).]

Many educators struggle to make the transition from writing on paper, traditional student journals or worksheets to an online platform (ex. blogs or wikis)  for themselves and for their students. Ann Davis’ says “It is not just a matter of transferring classroom writing into digital spaces”. I wholeheartedly agree with her.

They struggle because writing in digital spaces is a different than writing on a physical piece of paper.  Most of them struggle, due to the lack of knowledge and practice  of reading and writing in digital spaces on their own part. Let’s become aware of the use AND quality of hyperlinks as we read and surf the web.

Tip: Take a closer look at this blog post you are reading right now on Langwitches. You will see hyperlinks sprinkled across the post. I have included  different levels of links from the Hyperlink Taxonomy. Are you aware of the hyperlinks? Can you find and classify the different ones?

There are three aspects of a hyperlink that I want to pay close attention to:

1. the anatomy (the bodily structure) of a hyperlink
2. the grammar & syntax (a particular analysis of a system and structure of language and the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language)
3. the taxonomy (the classification) of a hyperlink

One of the faux pas, I often see in hyperlinked writing, are “grammatical  and syntax” errors in expressing a well formed sentence while including hyperlinks.

• links are not integrated into the flow of the sentence  (Ex. Click here, here,  and here…)
• link text is not descriptive  (Ex. Click here to see , Check out my latest blog post, Take a look at…)
• links do not clearly indicate what the reader can expect to find if they were to click on the link
• links are the URL (link address) spelled out, instead of embedded into the flow of the text sentence. (Ex. Take a look at http://langwitches.org/blog/2012/04/03/hyperlinked-writing-in-the-classroom/)

Hyperlinking goes well beyond simply adding “clickable words” to an otherwise static, unilateral, linear, one dimensional and disconnected text. Critical thinking and strategy skills are needed to include “higher order hyperlinks. A digital writer can

• emphasize (point their readers) to a virtual place or connect them to a specific idea and concept by choosing what kind of link to place in their hyperlinked text.
• mix form and content to open up  different dimensions, making their writing non-linear, multi-layered and connected.
• use the hyperlink as a medium to convey her/his own train of thought

Download the Makeup of a Hyperlink as a pdf file.

I am open to changes, additions to this first attempt to create a Taxonomy of Hyperlinked Writing. Please help continue to develop it by adding, questioning or tweaking.

Assessment in the Modern Classroom: Part Three- Blog Writing

I believe we are on our way of taking a modern classroom learning opportunity and upgrading assessment forms to match new skills and new literacies while not forgetting traditionally assessed ones.

We took a classroom Twitter feed (Part One) , looked at the conversation skills students exhibited during the Skype call (Part Two) and now are moving on to looking at “blog post writing” as assessment.

Keeping a previously created blogging rubric in mind, we took a closer look at the blog posts written by the 4th and 5th graders during the actual skype call and edited and formatted after the call had ended.

(If you have a minute, take the time to give the 4th and 5th graders (“outside of the classroom”) feedback).

There is not enough time to allow students to write the blog post, but still require them to write, in addition, in their paper journal. The “new form” of assessment has to replace the traditional one….

[Sidenote: not all the time... students don't have to only write on their blog, just as they should not only write in physical paper journals.]

There are still more components to our learning experience. We have videographers in the process of editing the recorded Skype call. Yet another opportunity for an upgraded assessment.

• How will we give feedback?
• How do we assess these students’ artifact for evidence of learning.
• How well did they edit?
• Were they able to summarize important parts of the video clip?
• Were they able to tell a new story (showing understanding) from the clip?
• Is there evidence of growth in their fluency/literacy/ skills such as digital communication, connection, collaboration and critical thinking?

Do we need a hub to collect these new types of assessment. Who is sharing? Who is curating? Who is disseminating?

Assessment in the Modern Classroom: Part Two- Taxonomy of a Skype Conversation

This is Part Two of Assessment in the Modern Classroom. Read Part One here.

Assessing students’ writing, thinking level , understanding, learning connections via a Twitter stream, did not end the assessment upgrade for this particular learning opportunity.

During the same Skype call, we paid special attention to how students interacted with their conversation partner (Mike in this case) . We were watching their body language, paying attention to their vocabulary, ability to articulate an idea, their conversation etiquette and ability to follow a conversation and interaction.

If working (and communicating beyond face to face interaction) on a global team is/will be a crucial skill for our students to posses, how can we assess the skills, support, coach and guide students?

I am looking for ways to UPGRADE & REPLACE traditional assessment forms. Heidi Hayes Jacobs suggests in her book Curriculum21 to use an upgrade model which

begins with consideration of assessment types, moves to content reviews and replacement, and then links both of these to upgraded skills and proficiencies (Jacobs, 2010, p.20)

I started by taking a look at Andrew Churches Skype Rubric (pdf), but wanted to focus more on the actual communication skills during the Skype call and developed the following Taxonomy of a Skype Conversation  as a guide.

Download the Taxonomy of a Skype Conversation as a pdf file.

I believe we are on our way. We took the Twitter feed (Part One) , looked at skills students exhibited during the Skype conversation (Part Two) and now are moving on to looking at “blog post writing” as assessment (Part Three).