Web pages can contain various kinds of elements, from text to sound to virtual environments. As the Web continues to evolve, new means of conveying information become available. What's cutting edge today may soon gain mainstream acceptance and usability.
Most users, however, lag behind the cutting edge. They're not equipped with the most advanced equipment, software, or connections.
Text elements, which are coded using HTML, or Hypertext Markup Language, transmit quickly and can be seen in all browswers. Most elements other than text involve much more data and take more time to transmit. Pages containing such bandwidth-intensive elements, therefore, take longer to display. Lengthy download times are an issue when your users lack high-speed connections to the Internet.
Additionally, basic browser software supports only a subset of the possibilities. To access other kinds of elements, your users may need to download and install additional software. (For a glimpse of the range of technologies supported in this way, visit the page that Netscape maintains, listing available Netscape plug-ins sorted by end-user platforms.)
As a designer, you need to balance the value of the information a page and its elements convey against the amount of download time and inconvenience facing the end user. To help you resolve this tradeoff, this session provides an overview of some of the most common elements on the Web and the contexts in which they are used. (Specific tools for creating such elements are discussed in session 9.) We encourage you to experience them yourself before you decide what to use in your own resouce. Most importantly, we urge you to consider whether or not your learners are likely to be able to use them.
