As we have been discussing interactivity, and the renewal of the C/I debate (no, I won't mention their names!), it seemed if I could show a C environment in which all (or most) of the interactive classes were evident, then Tom would be happier and Mike vindicated. So here goes--an environment in which the learner will be allowed to develop (construct?) their own understanding and knowledge about the bastion of instructivism (arrggg--I said that word)--Instructional Systems Design.
In fact, a rudimentary attempt has already been made to achieve this in a commercial product I developed some years ago for Fujitsu Australia called Developing Interactive Training. In that case, the authoring tool definitely was restricting.
We begin by placing the user/learner into a Non-Immersive Contextual (NCI) environment which is based on a typical office of training developers--desks, computers, noticeboards, people, doors, offices, books, folders, drawers. The user is able to "wander" round this environment (perhaps I need another classification called Roaming Interactivity?) and when the pointing device used (i.e., the transaction defined by Schwier & Misanchuk) highlights selected items, the user is able to use Object Interactivity (OI) to have their properties presented. Without going any further, the user might have an idea of who and what are required within a functional ISD environment--is this constructing knowledge or is this instruction?
(As an aside, this scenario assumes there is something about which knowledge can be constructed or developed, that is, there are some pre-defined objects and resources which might be considered essential foundations for ISD.)
So the user wanders around the office and like any normal person unsure at their first day at work, heads to the staff room where there are virtual refreshments (i.e., Support Interactivity--help, etc.) through people who are talking. As soon as the user "asks" one of their colleagues about the place, they are welcomed as the new ISD person and told about their project brief--to develop a course on topic X--and that they might like to start in the library.
Off the user goes to the library where there are a range of books detailing the many approaches to learning--behaviourist, constructivist, cognitive, social development, situate, conversational, experiential. The user can browse these at leisure, reviewing what other users have thought and record their preference to learning (Reflective Interactivity). This of course reveals my own philosophy that there is no ONE WAY--there are many paths to achieving goals. However, and this is where Control issues enter, if the user selects one preferred approach, then the application parameters must be set so that the "office" knows about their particular preference. Is this Artificial Intelligence--I think not, just a simple task of setting a variable to a certain value!
As the user returns to various parts of the office, the objects around may randomly change as a result of the work of others. In some cases, selecting these may Jump (Hyperlinkled Interactivity--HI) to another location in the organization. The interface design and metaphor intuitive and transparent enough for the user to return to their origin (it works in Myst).
Of course, the user would also be provided with a set of "tools" to help in the voyage of discovery--just as in Kings Quest (or Leisure Suit Larry for the more mature). The "?" for example would allow the user to interrogate a person, a magnifying glass an object. The result may simply be an OI or it could be an Update Interaction, where additional information is provided as a result of the interrogation.
I don't think these ideas are new (I've been calling them Learner Integrated Teaching Environments for some time) and they represent situational or contextual applications. However, I'm hoping that this expands some of the ideas behind the paper. I also recommend the work of Barry Harper and John Hedberg--if you want to go WOW, then get a copy of their Nardoo product when its available.
By the way--doing the above in Authorware, with some help from Director movies, would be a snack--piece of cake!!!