“The Drexel Disk: An obsolete hypertext document” by Hewett
Conference:
Type(s):
Title:
- The Drexel Disk: An obsolete hypertext document
Program Title:
- Hypermedia
Organizer(s)/Presenter(s):
Description:
For six years, Drexel University has required all entering freshmen to have access to a Macintosh. This policy created a need for ways of introducing students to the capabilities and uses of their computers and to related campus facilities. Part of the infrastructure of consulting and training services which the University created was a hypertext program called “The Drexel Disk.” First distributed to Freshmen in 1984, the program utilizes graphics to represent menu structures and spatial information (e.g., an interactive campus map for locating microcomputing facilities, University offices, departments, etc.), creates recall cues to aid in retrieving information, and provides multiple hypertext linkages, including a functional index which bypasses the menus. Now that all entering Freshmen have access to Hypercard, the stand-alone Drexel Disk has become obsolete, having been replaced by a derivative Hypercard stack which is more easily maintained and which costs less to update.
