Mohive Webex - Interactivity L1

Notes from Mohive's first Webex on Interactivity (9 September 2008):

• The purpose of interactivity is to encourage the user to focus on and think about the subject matter. So, for interactivity to help enhance learning, there must be a connection between the subject matter and the choices that the user is asked to make. The point of interactivity in e-learning is to get the user involved and engaged in the subject matter – not in the interaction itself!
• Be aware that the ‘continue’ button in disguise (‘click on screen’ to move on) is not a real interaction.
• Understand the difference between a test and an exercise. The point of a test is to check whether the user has already obtained the required knowledge; an exercise is a tool for helping the user acquire that knowledge.
• As people learn by making mistakes, exercises should not be set up to punish the inquisitive user for clicking all the wrong alternatives out of curiosity to see what will happen by losing points or getting a negative score. Neither should the truthful user whose immediate reactions are not exactly what the organisation is hoping for be punished. The point of an exercise is to induce the user to think about his or her attitudes and actions, not to achieve a 100% score.
• Feedback in exercises should always be relevant and informative. Getting an answer wrong should provide a further learning opportunity rather than a slap! It is also often useful to give the learner another chance to find the right answer rather than telling them it the first time they fail.
• We should approach e-learning with the Socratic technique as it encourages thinking and treats the learner as a peer. E-learning often presents all the information, and then tests on it. This can have the effect of being very patronising (“What did I just say?”) and does not treat learners as peers. The Socratic method opens with questions to allow learners to explore their own knowledge and learn from any mistakes they make. The question should be ones where the learner can use their own reasoning to find their way to the answer and not “see how much you don’t know” haphazard ones!
• As a rule there should be one interactive exercise for each Learning Objective and any feedback should be strictly relevant to the point being made. It should add to rather than simply parrot the text in the exercise.
• Feedback could also be used to present a technical point. For example, if the course is on computer security, the options in an MCQ exercise could be (a) lock screen when away from computer (b) always close all files when you leave your computer etc. with (a) being correct. The feedback could then take you through the process of setting up your computer to lock the screen.
• Feedback should motivate the learner to want to learn more.
• Learning points should be presented in a practical context wherever possible.
• Remember, the 'Continue' button is not usually useful interactivity.

Useful Interactive exercises for teaching:

Letting the user explore a page with one or more pictures or diagrams (usually rollover or click to reveal) is useful for:

• Technical training where the user learns about the parts of a machine
• Understanding user interfaces or diagrams
• Understanding the points of view of a group of people with different interests (“panel debate”)

Sorting exercises where the user sorts elements into differently labelled boxes (usually drag and drop) are useful for:

• Learning procedures where things have to be done in a certain order
• Sorting products into customer groups
• Understanding the responsibilities of business areas

Multiple choice exercises can be used for:

• Understanding the meaning of a word or concept
• Choosing the correct response in a given situation
• Tests

Exercises where an elaboration is presented where the user clicks on key words or sentences (usually rollover or click to reveal) are useful for:

• Interviewing the CEO or an expert about a topic (Create a series of questions covering all points in that information and allow the leaner to find out about the information the CEO wants to present in the sequence the learners wants to discover it. This will feel more like a balanced dialogue between equals and empowers the learner.)
• Learning the meanings of several related words or concepts
• Expanding on or explaining each element in an emergency procedure