Interaction in Computer Aided Education

What is Interaction?

The dictionary definition of interaction is "to mutually effect each other". In CAE, interaction takes place between the computer and the user. Compared to classical education methods, interaction allows the user (or the student) to understand and learn the subject in a much easier manner.

To this aim, interaction takes place around frame of the educational program on the computer. Through the process of receiving the question from the computer, inputting an answer and receiving feedback on her answer, learning takes place.

Interactive Exercise

Maximum possible use of interaction is one of the most efficient methods for both the user and the educational program. Today we frequently see this method used in exercises and examples. We call the exercises that include interaction, "Interactive Exercise". Interactive exercises can be presented in many ways. Possible examples include simulations, pairings, questions followed by answers, find and replace the error, hybrid interactive exercises.

Simulation: This type of interactive exercise can appear in many forms. Usually, if a formula is available or if a relation can be expressed completely as a formula, simulations can be used. The user enters an input or an output to the system and the system reacts accordingly. It is also possible to ask the user to order given objects correctly. In some cases, a virtual experiment and its results can also be explained through a simulation.

In simulation applications, the user should clearly see the connection between what he has learned and what he sees. These relations should be heavily stressed.

Pairings: In this type of interactive exercise, the user is asked to pair related concepts. This method is generally used when the subject of the exercise can not be visualised or be presented in a formula.

Question-Answer:The goal of this interactive exercise type is to have the user answer a question posted by the computer. The input devices might be the mouse or the keyboard.

Find and Replace the Error: In this interactive exercise, the user is asked to find the errors in a given material (text, illustration, etc.) and then replace it with the correct ones. Generally, the correction is chosen from a given list of possible answers and is input using the keyboard.

Hybrid Interactive Exercise : This exercise type consists of different sections. The correct answer given by the user in a section is used in solving the following section. The sections can be formed of interactive exercise types listed above.