A Definition of Interactive Design
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Design

Interaction design is concerned with the behavior of products, with how products work. A lot of an interaction designer's time will be spent defining these behaviors, but the designer should never forget that the goal is to facilitate interactions between humans. To me, it's not about interaction with a product (that's industrial design) or interaction with a computer (that's human-computer interaction). It's about making connections between people.

Since behaviors and mediums are always changing, the discipline of IxD shouldn't align itself to any of these in particular. The rise of digital devices and the internet created a greater need for the discipline and many, many new opportunities for interaction designers. But it isn't the only place for our talents; analog situations can use our talents too, to create things like work flows and systems of use. As the internet and digital devices become more and more ubiquitous, interaction design will be involved in nearly every aspect of our lives.
-- from Danny Saffer's blog on his Masters Program at Carnegie Mellon University

One thing we, as Instructional Designers, have to do is remember that we are not just Instructors, but Designers. Our job is not just to put a course online (or on a CD), but also to make the content interesting and evocative.
Yes, evocative.
That's one of the main failings of many LMS systems today: They are simply an attempt to mimic a classroom on a webpage.
Moodle, an Open Source LMS that I truly enjoy, unfortunately falls into this category. For all the 'social constructivism' that drives its constantly increasing number of activity modules, it's still an attempt to put a classroom on a webpage.

It's the design of that webpage that makes or breaks the social constructivism and activity goals. If it ain't attractive, energetic and evocative, it don't matter how many good ideas are hidden behind a boring presentation (read:design).

When I first looked at Danny Saffer's blog, I said, "Ack! -- White on Red?!" My first thought was that this was gonna be a hard read, no matter what he had to say.
But I was wrong. Danny breaks up the in-your-face and anesthetizing color combination with frequent bold-gold, oversized links, images and an engaging arrangement of pages that keeps the blog moving. In fact, it's fun to read, even if he does get a little academic at times. (see above)

Another good example is CustomGuide eLearning site.
Initially, the site looks pretty mundane. The loading module is intentionally boring, with muzak (Am I showing my age here?) rolling idly by as the lessons download.
But once the lesson is there, the pace is quick, easy to follow, and the interaction is well-timed to keep the learner's attention.
A good comparison is with the Atomic Learning site, which is clearly designed by teachers for teachers. It's done in Quicktime movies. Essentially, one teacher lecturing another in a movie.
No interaction other than going from module to module. The modular design is its best feature; and it covers a lot of software.
Atomic Learning is more a audible, visual, example-driven Help file.

In the current marketplace, both online learning platforms are affordable, which makes them both -- for different reasons -- invaluable for anyone who really wants to learn software.

A weakness in both systems, AtomicLearning and CustomGuide, is depth. Within the limits of each elearning platform's presentation, the user can 'drill down' into the quirks of the software. -- But if the modules don't cover it; it don't exist.
To its credit, CustomGuide does touch on some strategic concepts in certain presentations, like MSProject.
I think both follow well Mr Loewy's MAYA principle.
It's an aspect of Information Technology that's frequently decried: By the time you build it, its outdated. Scope creep must drive MAYA mad.

What's missing is two steps, as I see it:
1) Case studies that take what's learned (or explicated) in the modules and illustrate how to use it;
and 2) interactive problem solving based on the learners' own needs and goals.
The strategies that are missing need to be made into examples. Then those strategies need to be made responsive to the goals and requirements of the business.

That's where I want AEmeritus to begin: with the business' needs and goals.