Browsing is another way to enlarge knowledge

Browsing is a searching and reading sources activity with many references from a link to another link on the internet which is not an old stuff anymore in students’ daily activities. How does it come? When they have an assignment that gets them to find some sources as their reference beside the book, they can browse it as much as they want on the internet. Internet is a server web that provides many sources, data, and files with some browser. “Browser is a program on the computer that allows us to search and find out the data” (smith 1) such as: Mozilla Fireforks, Internet Explorer, Opera, Google Chrome and many more. Browsing on the internet is very easy because we just click on a certain link that will bring us into another link in the text. It gets connect to hypertext because of the similar way, that is find out the sources through the related link which is contain a lot of link and it is called hyperlink. However many people does not realize that browsing is a way to apply hypertext in daily because it can sharpen our literacy by interacting with internet and technology.

Everyone can browse everything on the internet. It is not only browse the data or files in text form but also in mixed form such as text and music, music and video, text and video for example; pictures, mp3, video, games and many more. Browsing activity is an applying hypertext, so how is it connected? Actually both of it has a relationship like “open the door before we enter the house”, without the door we cannot enter the house. The door is considered as a link. When we, as a user look for the sources or information, we need to type our keywords or the specific clues first about our topic on the search engine. If we have pressed the “Enter”, directly the internet will give us so lots of choices which door that we want to enter. Then, we click a link that I am absolutely it contents another related link in it or another related door. If we imagine another door is bedroom door, bathroom door or anything else which is still in the house. People do not realize that browsing is the applying of hypertext because of the way is similar. “Hypertext is a structural text” (Hardman 359). It is not linear reading but has many related branch to read. If we read only with a source it is not considered enough to enrich our knowledge. That is the point of the hypertext it self, develops our reading knowledge.

After all, there is a question that wonder why browsing should become the way to apply hypertext and the effect it can sharpen our literacy? Does there is no other way except browsing? Well, browsing is the famous term which less people know it relationship with our reading behavior. They just know the name but do not know the other purpose of it, but they still enjoy it whether actually there is a meaning behind the browsing term or not. No one bother about that, they just want to have fun with all of the stuff on the internet. So, browsing is their way to explore their necessary. As I said before, browsing is the starting point and the activity process in finding or moving out to other link that we want because without browsing we cannot find out information. Just imagine, we need other reference but we do not want to move to other source by clicking the link. So, why browsing is very important because it is the act to do something that the impact we find new source and it is useful for our data. It seems sustainable, right? If we do not do an act to browse a link to find another link, it cannot be said that we had applied hypertext but who care about that? Meanwhile we had applied it, even though we realize or not.

So that I do believe, especially every student has ever done some browsing on the internet. Just asked them, do they know the fact that actually they had applied hypertext? That is why I said that browsing is the way to apply hypertext and sharpen our literacy by the information. Then what is the relationship between browsing on the internet with sharpen our literacy? Well, in browsing information we consume many texts which is provides by the browser. On the internet we are not browsing or finding the information only, like or dislike we are also read some text that we found to make sure that the data is right or even to read the title of the sources or the explanation about the information. That process makes us accustomed in reading process. If we do that consequently, it will give big influence about our knowledge. There, we learn how to comprehend a text and consume it then produce it as a new knowledge. Even though we do not do that consequently, I am sure that it will establish new point of view that will be useful for us.

Event though browsing is indivisible way from hypertext because it is categorized as online reading; there is another chosen in traditional way to read a text book that is Encyclopedia book. It contains different source or information in it, does not it also has lots of sources? Still, it can be used in traditional way but do not we need information quickly? We do not have much time to find some books in the library manually. When we choose some book from one shelf to other shelf until we find out the right book, does it too long? While on the internet we can browse it faster, just type it on the search engine and tada!! We get our sources with lots of link that lead us into other sources. By doing that, we can save our time and find lots of source. Then on the internet we can know about the hot issues around our country, because through it we cannot be outdated from the new information.

Browsing becomes the first choice in finding sources faster because it is known by easiest way and has many variations in the chosen. We cannot be lost the source on the internet because we can get back to the first sources, which are the advantages in browsing and using internet. Indirectly by browsing the data or files on the internet, we had applied hypertext concept and it sharpen our literacy by our self because “we learn, comprehend and interact with the internet and technology independently” (selfe 256). Beside that, we can enrich our knowledge as much as we want because knowledge is no limitation. Whether we find it on the internet or in a book, just do what the most comfortable for your necessary and which one do you like? Browsing on the internet with many advantages or reading a book with other advantages too. Just choose it because it is our chosen and make a wise decision in enlarge our knowledge because there is many ways to explore our self by knowledge and we can find it in everywhere.

Work Cited:
Hardman, L. Hypertext. Ed. Jacob L Mey. Elsevier, 1998. Print
Coiro, Julie. Expanding Our Understanding of Reading Comprehension to Encompass New Literacies. Reading Comprehension on the Internet. February. 2003. Web. 2 July 2010.
Smith, Adrian. Browsing the Internet: An introduction. Norwegian School of Veterinary Science. Web. 4 July 2010.