USES OF LINKS TO PROMOTE LEARNING
Links can promote learning in an online course by: presenting information, clarifying information, providing resources for student construction, or providing the lead-in for discussion and debate.

Links for information presentation
It is a common use of links to simply present information already established by an author or expert (i.e., "Here are 10 links for you to read more about this topic."). Research has shown that learners who are simply asked to browse supplemental course links will learn very little (Gall, 1995; Nelson & Palumbo, 1992, p. 292-293). Specific learner activities must be planned in which learners focus on information relationships. For instance, ask students to make a prediction or state a hypothesis for what they expect to find in the links (e.g., "The links will indicate that a mixture of X and Y chemical compounds will result in an explosion.") In this way, students are not browsing at random, but rather, directing their searches to inform and revise a very specific and personal idea. Another "directed" strategy would be for you or the learner to develop questions to be answered when they accessed the link content.

Links for information clarification
Faculty can use links within online course documents to quickly clarify or provide more elaborate information about a concept. Links to definitions, examples, related ideas, or applications can be programmed within a web page to help learners who may need more information to understand a concept (Nelson & Palumbo, 1992, p. 294) (click thumbnail image below for an enlarged view).