What is Interactive Online Learning?

Interactive learning online is not “interactive” in the old-fashioned, traditional English-language sense of “requiring people to talk with each other or do things together.” (Merriam-Webster, 2015) It is a much more individual, even isolated, process. For a long time now, this has been a struggle for me to accept. When I plan interactive activities in my classroom the focus is always on encouraging students to move physically (even if only within the classroom) and to work together in a way that requires communication and mutual effort.

In contrast, interactive online activities usually involve one person interacting with a computer program that is “designed to respond to the actions, commands, etc., of a user.” (Merriam-Webster, 2015) This has always seemed like a contradiction to me. The only real interaction is with an electronic device, and other human beings are mostly excluded from the process. All of this seems inherently anti-social, and almost the opposite of what has for a long time been thought of as interaction.

But Then …

This year I have been forced to re-think my position on the usefulness of interactive applications online. Our 9-year old son, who has struggled with reading since grade one, worked with an individual tutor this year, in conjunction with an interactive training program from Lexia Learning (Core 5), also made available through his tutor. This program assessed his reading ability using specific phonemic markers to measure his recognition and use of certain letter and letter combination sounds. It used this information to choose an appropriate starting point for our son then set him on a course of improvement that included activities in categories like “Sight Words”, “Prefix Meanings”, “Passage Fluency”, and “Simple Analogies.” As he worked his way through several levels it became apparent that the isolation was not a detriment to his learning, rather an advantage in some ways. His normal level of distraction when with friends was virtually (no pun intended) eliminated, his level of concentration was heightened for shorter but consistent periods of time, and the program reported out on his learning with greater specificity than a human being could even achieve while supervising a classroom full of students. His progress in reading was remarkable, to the point where he now reads by choice and for enjoyment.  This is not meant to be an advertisement for Lexia Learning, though their program is excellent, rather a recognition that students working individually using digital technology can benefit in marked ways in specific skills. There are many interactive applications available, some more effective than others, but the point is that the digital training was effective in catching him up to grade level in reading within a period of only a few months.

 

 

Another example of digital learning (or training, since the applications usually target specific skills) is one that I have not experienced personally, but only read about. Norman Doidge, in his book The Brain That Changes Itself, highlights lifelong plasticity of the human brain. He features a story about a young woman whose efforts to re-train her brain led to the development of a brain-based listening and reading program called Fast ForWord. The program deliberately targets specific areas of the brain, and encourages rapid improvement in skills that might otherwise remain undeveloped for many years, if at all. The story of Barbara Arrowsmith Young’s efforts to improve her own brain function, and the program that resulted over a long period of partnerships and scientific learning, is fascinating. Again, students working with Fast ForWord are mostly working individually, interacting with a single computer rather than in a social way with other human beings … but accounts of improvement in reading are remarkable.

 

 

Is This Really Interactive?

 

In the case of our son, I must caution that his improvement in reading cannot be attributed exclusively to a digital tool. Both his classroom teacher and his private tutor focused on this skill, and used the interactive program as a supplement to his schooling. Along with the digital tool that he used in the evening, he attended the local public school, played with his friends at recess, did other online research in the form of class projects, participated in all the planned classroom learning activities, and carried on with a very social, interactive life as a student.

 

I really don’t know whether the kind of training employed by these digital programs is “interactive”. At some level it seems unimportant what the label is, as long as learning is evident, especially in ways that would not likely be accomplished through ‘normal’ human effort. I do think it’s important to recognize that social media and other forms of digital learning are not all just individual, isolated, and specific to a particular skill. Other examples could easily highlight human connections that are achieved through digital media, sometimes between individuals, classes, communities, or even over international borders. Online communities offer potential for learning in many other ways: ways that deserve exploration and consideration … but that is for another time.

 

Honestly, when I encounter “interactive” games and applications, the “interactive” part still seems like a bit of a misnomer. But there is certainly a place for these activities in teaching and learning.

 

 

Arrowsmith-Young, B. (2013). The Woman Who Changed Her Brain: Barbara Arrowsmith-Young at TEDxToronto. Retrieved August 20, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0td5aw1KXA

 

Doidge, N. (2007). The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science. New York: Viking.

 

F. (2008). The Reading Brain and the Fast ForWord program. Retrieved August 20, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsSUamFekwI

 

Lexia Learning. (2016). Retrieved August 20, 2016, from http://www.lexialearning.com/

Merriam Webster. (2015). Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved August 09, 2016, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interactive

 

Z. (2014). Lexia Reading CORE5. Retrieved August 20, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjCaslS4iBU