Interactivity: The forgotten art?

     

Interactivity in learning is "a necessary and fundamental mechanism for knowledge acquisition and the development of both cognitive and physical skills. It is no longer adequate to see our field of practice (or are we bold enough to label it a profession?) being limited to products where interactivity is trivialised to simple menu selection, clickable objects or linear sequencing. Interaction is intrinsic to successful, effective instructional practice as well as individual discovery. The implementation of interactivity can be perceived as an art because it requires a comprehensive range of skills, including an understanding of the learner, an appreciation of software engineering capabilities, the importance of rigorous instructional design and the application of appropriate graphical interfaces. If we are to be recognised as developers with professional capabilities, as competent practitioners, then it is critical to understand what makes an application interactive, instructional and effective.
By way of providing a context for the discussion, the ideas are largely based on extensive work as an active multimedia developer of applications to support education and training in the post-secondary and vocational sectors, rather than those specifically designed for school applications. The concepts of interactivity presented relate as much to the complexity of development and implementation as they do to the quality, effectiveness and engagement of human-computer communications. Given this position, I hope this paper will challenge ITFORUM subscribers - contributors and lurkers alike. This challenge is to consider, reconsider and perhaps even reformulate your notion of the use of interactivity within computer-based multimedia applications - designed to support the teaching and learning process - within all educational and training environments.
Multimedia
As educational technology is increasingly being referred to as interactive multimedia (IMM), it is perhaps fitting to include a short reference to the term multimedia. , where multimedia is said to consist of the media (text, audio, visuals), the technology (computers) and the products (kiosks, education, games, information). The essential implication which can be drawn from this description is that multimedia itself is not inherently interactive, as many of you already appreciate. In fact, multimedia represents no significant challenge to developers who understand that quality in an instructional resource is a function of the design effort, not the technology. It is the use of the products which integrate multimedia elements where interactivity becomes important. Interactivity is generally at a basic "point and click" level for kiosks and information applications, whereas games and educational products require a higher degree of interactivity. This is not to say that basic interactivity is inappropriate - but rather that the level of interaction may not be adequate or relevant to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge or the development of new skills and understanding. On the other hand, educational products will likely require more complex forms of interactivity, depending upon the particular strategy employed for the application.
The Human-Computer Interface
An initial approach to the study of interactivity can focus on the relationship between the human operator and the technology - the Human-Computer Interface (HCI) perspective. In brief, this involves interactivity as relating to a wide range of disciplines including software engineering, computational linguistics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science (understanding, thought, creativity), sociology, ergonomics, organisational psychology, mathematics, cognitive psychology and social psychology.
For the purposes of this discussion and in the context of HCI, interactivity might be simplified to refer to a user who has access to a range of input devices (keyboard, drawing, pointing, touchscreen or speech) which can activate the technology being used; the result of this action is some form of visual or audio output (text, graphics, printing or speech), and the sequence of actions form an interaction.Instructional technology is about making that interaction both meaningful and engaging to the user, and interactivity can be viewed as a function of input required by the learner while responding to the computer, the analysis of those responses by the computer and the nature of the action by the computer.

Be netwoked today and make your life effortless

Online social networks are webs of relationships that grow from computer-mediated discussions. The webs grow from conversations among people who share a common affinity (e.g., they work for the same company, department, or in the same discipline) and who differ in other ways (e.g., they are in different locations, keep different hours, specialize in different disciplines, work for different companies). When the people are distributed across time and space, then these conversations need to take place online, over an intranet or private internet forum.

Within a company, a well-tuned online social network can enhance the company's collective knowledge and sharpen its ability to act on what people know in time to be effective. We have long recognized that this kind of network is critical to an organization. Creating these opportunities to connect is often the stated or unstated purpose of facilitated off-site meetings and other communication initiatives. However, the half-life of connections made at these meetings was very short until online technology provided us with a means to support the network over time.

Social networks grow from the personal interactions of human beings over time, as well as from from the technological infrastructure that connects those humans. This means that growing a successful online social network requires social know-how as well as technical expertise. Interactions include those that take place face-to-face, via telephone, online, and even via things we send each other in the postal mail.

Witness admits lying agaist vice president William Ruto

 
A witness has admitted to International Criminal Court (ICC) judges that he  lied about evidence against Deputy President William Ruto after prosecution investigators offered him wealth and other benefits.

He also made a stinging indictment of the prosecution through a sworn affidavit, saying they collected evidence from him knowing that it was false.

Following the admission by Witness 604, prosecution lawyer Mr Anton Steynberg made an application that he be declared a hostile witness.

However, Mr Ruto's defence team, lead by Mr Karim Khan, vehemently opposed the move.

In his testimony on Thursday, the witness appeared to tear apart his earlier, recanted evidence, denying knowledge of obvious subjects such as being aware of the violence that took place during the post-election violence in 2008, saying he only heard of it from neighbours.

This is despite the fact that he had told the court he lived in Turbo in the Rift Valley, which was one of the places affected by the post-election violence.

The witness  told the court he had forgotten the names of armed Kalenjin youths behind the killing of Kikuyus in the Rift Valley in his earlier evidence given to ICC investigators

The witness had unsuccessfully made a new request for postponement of the hearing earlier in the morning, with presiding judge Chile-Eboe Osuji saying some of the reasons advanced by his lawyer did not provide valid grounds.

Former Raila Odinga allies spill the beans

 

Two key members of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s 2013 election campaign team are now blaming each other over the way they handled his unsuccessful presidential bid.

In a spat that could reveal intricate details of the Cord presidential candidate’s campaign machinery, Mr Eliud Owalo, who was the campaign manager, and Mr Caroli Omondi, the chief of staff at the PM’s office, on Monday disagreed over the fate of Sh94 million meant for election agents and for the tallying centre to monitor votes for their boss during the March 4 polls.

Mr Owalo blamed Mr Omondi for running down the campaign structure of the ODM leader, including making it difficult for the campaign secretariat to work.

He claimed that Mr Omondi was in charge of the Sh94 million released by Mr Odinga two weeks to the election date to pay more than 20,000 agents at more than 31,000 polling stations designated by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Signs that a girl isn't into you

The other day a friend of mine mark (Not his real name) wanted to know about the signs that a girl shows if she isn’t interested in a man.I told him that I was going to gather information from the girls then write about it to let him and other guys know. This are the findings i came up with.
Playing hard to get for as long as you can remember
If you have been chasing this girl since you were in first year and now you are in forth year and she hasn’t at all ‘entered your box’, it is high time you stopped the chase brother. This is a clear sign that you are not the one for her. A lady will find an excuse not to be close to you. When you invite her for lunch, she will always refuse the offer.
Not laughing at the jokes you make.
A girl who is not interested in you will not laugh at the jokes you try to make in a n attempt to make
her smile. She will just look at you with that blank expression of “I wish ungejua (you knew) how blunt your jokes are”. When she smiles awkwardly don’t become excited, that smile can mean that she pities you.
Not calling you unless you are the last person who can help.
A lady will easily pick her phone and call you anytime to ask for anything if she likes you and that she considers you a close friend but if you have shown interest in her and she doesn’t feel you then she will not call you unless it is an emergency and you are the last person who can help after weighing all her options. She will call all her friends first until she has you as the last resort then she
will be forced to call you.
Always looking out for all the wrong things you do.
A girl will react by finding faults in everything you say or do. She will always try to ensure that she pushes you far away as possible so don’t even apologize or try to act nice because it doesn’t help. She is trying to pass the message that she isn’t interested using action hoping that you will interpret that as it is.  

Not looking into your eyes. 

A lady will only look into your eyes when she finds you attractive and wants to be close to you. (Keep in mind that this point is subject to discussion) sometimes the opposite applies. A lady will blush if she finds you interesting and can be a potential someday. However, most ladies told me that they don’t look into a guy’s eye but instead try to find something that distracts them like a friend where they will shout to alert them then leave you there as she runs away. This they believe will help you decipher that there is no hope between the two of
you.

Making your complement’s such a big deal.

 If a girl you like grumbles when you complement her, take a hint mr. she doesn’t like you at all. If she snobs you when you say, “you look smart today.” then it is simple she isn’t into you. She wishes she couldtell you to keep quiet or just, “I have a mirror you know.” The opposite reaction is when a different person tells her the same words. You will hear her giggle then a shy ‘thank you’ will follow.
Claiming that there is someone else
If a girl always says there is someone in her life yet all her friends tell you there is no one then it is simple. She doesn’t want you. Well, I hope that will help you decipher if she likes you or not. Enough
said. I rest my case.

I AINT AFRAID OF RAILA,ABABU VOWS

Budalangi member of parliament Ababu Namwamba shocked former prime minister Raila Odinga and his CORD supporters when that he doesn'nt fear Raila Odinga. The infamous budalangi mp who has been known for a very long time as a cord stronghold is now revealing to Raila how he cannot mislead his supporters leading a referendum before first making him the ODM's secretary general. he further added that however much Raila tries to tarnish his name calling him jubilees mole he will still remain Ababu.

Election in moi varsity

Students of moi university will today cast their votes  in a bid to elect new students governing council. The process began at 8.00 a.m today at the students center,conference room and end at 7.00 where counting of the votes will begin.