Lakhasly

Learner-Content Interaction The first type of interaction is interaction between the learner and the content or subject of study.Without it there cannot be education, since it is the process of intellectually interacting with content that results in changes in the learner's understanding, the learner's perspective, or the cognitive structures of the learner's mind.This is a defining characteristic of education.

Learner-Content Interaction
The first type of interaction is interaction between the learner and the content or subject of study. This is a
defining characteristic of education. Without it there cannot be education, since it is the process of
intellectually interacting with content that results in changes in the learner's understanding, the learner's
perspective, or the cognitive structures of the learner's mind. It is this type of interaction that I believe is at
least partly involved in what Holmberg (1986) calls the "internal didactic conversation" when learners "talk
to themselves" about the information and ideas they encounter in a text, television program, lecture, or
elsewhere.
The oldest form of distance teaching that aimed to facilitate interaction with content was the didactic text. In
medieval times nearly all texts were aimed at instructing, not merely informing, and certainly not at
entertaining. In the nineteenth century the use of print for teaching was advanced by the invention of home
study guides that accompanied a text, providing explanations of it and directions for its study. In more recent
times learners have interacted with content broadcast on radio and television programs, and with electronic
recordings on audiotape, videotape, and computer software. Interactive videodisc is the most advanced form
of didactic interaction invented so far.
Some learning programs are solely content-interactive in nature. They are one-way communications with a
subject expert (sometimes assisted by an instructional designer), intended to help distant learners in their
study of the subject. No other professional teaching expertise is provided, and learning is largely self-directed.
According to the findings of adult education research, the majority of the adult population undertakes selfdirected study (Tough 1971; Penland 1977; Hiemstra 1982)