In one of my classes this week we were talking about Rapid Instructional Design. Tom Kuhlmann has a good post on 3 Ways to define it in the context of e-Learning.
- Design an Interactive Look & Feel
- Create Exploratory Content
- Provide a reason to use the information
He makes a compelling case for each of these three definitions, but one that particularly resonates with me is the emphasis on creating exploratory content. He essentially highlights the disconnect between the way some e-learning modules artificially construct the human learning process (i.e., in neat, linear steps) and the way most people actually learn — through nonlinear exploration (In fact, exploration is a critical part of learning).
I like this link that he makes between interactivity being driven by exploratory discovery rather than being driven by the technology.